December
by Trainalf
Summary: Post Book of Shadows slight AU. Two back-to-back tragedies have left the Kisaragi survivors stunned and in poor spirits as they wonder if they can ever really live a normal life again. But as the year's most festive month arrives, they start to think maybe they can. Primarily a Satomi fic, with mentions and allusions to other pairing.
1. December 1st

XX A/N XX

My first holiday themed work. Honestly, I've been wanted to write something like this was a while; my regular writing subjects are gritty and war like, but I've been stuck in the same thing for so long, I want to branch out.

I doubt this will be all that great; I've always had trouble coherently transitioning ideas to writing and looking over this chapter I feel I've been over dramatic, but I still decided to post it regardless. And I decided to take a interesting approach to it; I'll upload a chapter corresponding to the day of the month the chapter takes place on. This means there will be a few skips, since I won't cover every day. But I hope you all enjoy the story regardless.

Cultural context: Christmas Eve and Christmas is celebrated differently in Japan, due to the low prominence of Christianity. Christmas Eve is more akin to the western celebration of Valentines day: couples will get together, usual have dinner together, ect. Christmas isn't even an official holiday, so schools there are still open on the 25th. Still, it is a interesting variation of the holiday, and something I think has a lot of story potential. Christmas day has it own unique celebrations. I'd recommend looking them up.

Setting context: According to Naomi's phone, the day they did the charm was October 27th, 2008. So that would mean Naomi and Ayumi's expedition to the Shinozaki estate took place somewhere around November 10th of the same year. Blood Drive would therefore start sometime in January 2009.

I apologize in advance for any hiccups about cultural differences.

X December 1st X

December had finally come to Japan. The temperature was a cool sixteen degrees Celsius, prompting many residents to adorn light jackets. But the most noticeable sign was the vast amount of lights that had been strung out and hung all over the city. Miles and miles of it adorned stores, houses, and many public areas. All of it in anticipation for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the New Years.

The first two were not official holidays, but the concepts behind them were very popular in Japan. And so, stores were packed with people of all ages doing early shopping for gifts that would no doubt become scarcer as the days went on. Restaurants were packed with people young and old trying to get reservations for the 24th, some of whom stood in line for well over an hour or willing paid a large sum for hotly contested slots. Even though the day was more than three weeks away, you could already see the anticipation in many girl's faces as they waited to see if someone would ask them out. Likewise, you could also tell many of the boys were struggling to find the courage to do so.

It was all absurdly cheerful to Satoshi, who hadn't been swept up in the euphoria. In fact, he just seemed to watch it all, detached. He had nothing against the holidays; In fact, him and his family had always enjoyed spending the 25th and New Years together. But the brown haired 17 year old couldn't look forward to it because he was too busy thinking about the past and present.

Heavenly Host was part of it. Even more than a month after the horrible event, just the slightest thought about it would make him shudder or break into a cold sweat. His friends and him had just wanted to give Suzumoto a good send off for being a good friend, and just a few minutes later they'd been fighting for their lives in a horrible school filled with bodies and malevolent spirits. Satoshi, his sister Yuka, and his friends Naomi, Ayumi, and Yoshiki had just barely managed to escape. Three of their friends and their T.A hadn't come back. Suzumoto, Morishige, Shinohara, and Ms. Yui were gone, literally wiped from history as if they'd never existed.

That experience alone had been enough bad memories for a life time. None of them had come out of it the same; the horror and guilt had already started affecting their lives just a few days after they'd returned and the joy of survival was crushed by the realization of what had transpired. All of them were uneasy in everyday life and the interaction between them all had begun to show strain. Satoshi had wanted to move on. He'd wanted everyone to try and be happy and return to normal because that's what they're friends would have wanted. But Naomi and Ayumi just couldn't let go of what happened.

Deep down, Satoshi really couldn't say he was surprised. Shinozaki probably still blamed herself because she'd been the one to suggest the charm, even if she had no way of knowing what would happen. She still thought she was responsible and wanted to fix it. Naomi wanting to act was hardly a surprise either. Even if she hadn't been responsible for her actions, she still blamed herself for Shinohara's death even after it was clear Seiko herself didn't blame her and wanted her to go and be happy. She'd just wanted to see her best friend again.

So just a few weeks after they'd returned, they'd both acted.

Satoshi still wasn't sure exactly what had happened even now. Both girls just hadn't shown up to school one day and neither had answered any calls or texts. Satoshi and Yoshiki had both been worried and both agreed to visit the girls' houses. That's when they discovered both of them had been at the hospital and had instantly rushed over. Satoshi had been relieved when he learned Naomi was just there for shock, but Yoshiki and him had both been horrified to learn Ayumi was in the intensive care unit for some horrid injury.

No one could tell them what had happened, because no one knew. They couldn't even see Naomi because the police were still investigating the matter. But both boys had dug in their heels and refused to leave until they found out what had happened, staying well into the evening. Satoshi's parents had arrived with Yuka in the evening to try and take him home. He'd refused and, after hearing why, Yuka had stubbornly dug in with them, leaving their parents no choice but to allow them to stay the night and through school the next day and wait for news.

In the end, they didn't get any. Given Shinozaki's injuries and the hysterical state Naomi had been, the police had chalked it up as an assault or possible mugging, kidnapping, rape, or other type of attack. It seemed to make sense to the girls' parents, but to their friends, they knew it had to have been something more. But they agreed not to ask Naomi as to not upset her anymore then she already was. They'd finally got a chance to see her, though she'd been knocked out by a sedative before hand.

Seeing her laying there with her face frozen in fear even while sleeping, Satoshi couldn't remember a time he'd ever felt more miserable.

Though Shinozaki remained in intensive care, Naomi had been allowed to leave a week after being admitted. She'd returned to school a week after that. Even then, seeing how subdued and quiet she was, neither boy had pressed for answers. They'd just welcomed her back and tried to act like nothing had happened, hoping someday she'd eventually get the courage to tell. So far, that hadn't happened.

The moment Satoshi found himself thinking about nearly everyday know was those 30 hours he'd spent in the hospital waiting. Yuka had passed out in his lap not too long after arriving, and even Yoshiki had fallen asleep despite the coffee the hospital served. But Satoshi had been awake the entire time, alert and waiting for whatever news would show.

He realized he'd been terrified. Terrified when he found out Naomi was in the hospital. Terrified when he heard she was so worked up. Terrified when he overheard her mother telling doctors and police she'd had recent mental health problems. He been terrified most of all just after they'd finally been allowed to see Naomi, and they'd asked a doctor how long she'd have to stay.

They'd been told she might be transferred to a mental hospital for further treatment, since she apparently had a recent past of emotional instability.

A mental hospital. Far away from all of them when the one thing she needed most was to be around people who understood what she'd been through. Hearing that, Satoshi had almost become sick. But what could he have done if they decided to? Nothing, because no one would've believed them. He would've only been able to watch. Even after Heavenly Host, he'd never been more scared in his life then when he thought Naomi might've been taken away.

He often thought back to that moment and the relief he'd felt when Naomi had shown back up at school. He thought about it cause it made him realize something: He really cared about her.

He cared about the others, or course. He'd been there for Yuka after they'd got back and she'd started having night terrors. Yoshiki had been unusually on edge right after they got back and had actually started to become depressed after he found out Shinozaki was in the hospital, and would skip school a lot of days just to hang around the hospital in the hope something would happen. Satoshi had been there to cheer him up when he could.

But he seemed to find himself worrying about Naomi all the time. Hoping she would released soon. Hoping she'd come back to school with them. And even after she'd come back, he was worried because she wasn't the same; it was like she'd been detached from everything around her. Even if she'd constantly messed with him, he missed the old Naomi. He wanted her to stop blaming herself and being sad. He wanted her to be happy again.

He really cared...and that had made him realize: He loved her. It had taken two back-to-back tragedies to make him realize that. He had no doubt about it either; that was how he felt.

But what to make of it?

Any normal boy who made such a conclusion would confess or, lacking the courage, ask her out or get her something. At this time of the year, they would certain ask to take them out on the 24th. But to Satoshi, the idea seemed so...odd. Between what had happened to them and how Naomi was acting, the idea of doing something so carefree seemed alien in his mind. But the thought persisted.

Should he try? The question was picking at his mind every hour of every day. Could he ask her to go out with him on the 24th? Would she feel up to it? Could they even have fun with so much horrible knowledge and memories shared between them? What would happen if she said no and it damaged their friendship? Would it help them both?

He didn't know. Sitting in class thinking about it, we wished more then anything Heavenly Host had never happened, that they were all just normal teenagers, and that deciding to ask her out wasn't such a complicated idea. The conflict must've shown on his face, because it didn't go un-noticed.

"What are you looking so down about?" Yoshiki asked him during the period between classes. It was one of the few days he'd come to class rather then skipping to wander around the hospital all day. Satoshi was reluctant to answer. He knew Yoshiki was interested in Shinozaki, and would probably would have tried to asked her out if she hadn't been in the hospital, so talking about his own problems might have come off as inconsiderate. "Still worried about Nakashima?" Yoshiki had always poked fun at Satoshi for liking Naomi, only now he would be telling the truth.

"Y-yeah." Satoshi admitted. Both looked over to Naomi's desk across the room and out of ear shot. She was sitting there blankly staring at the desk surface, seemingly unaware of everything around her. Before Heavenly Host, they all would've gathered and talked during these breaks. Now, that rarely happened. "She's really seemed depressed since she got out of the hospital..." Yoshiki leaned back, put his legs on his desk, folded his arms behind his head, and didn't say anything. Being so desperate to know what happened to Shinozaki, Satoshi expected him to be a little cross with Naomi for not telling them what happened. But at least he didn't say so out loud; he cared about her well being too.

"You could probably cheer her up, you know? Since she likes you and you were her best friend after Shinohara. You should take her out or something." Yoshiki remarked, trying to inject for humor into the conversation, something he was still able to do despite how grim things were. Normally Satoshi would nervously laugh and tell his friend off for messing with him. But that was the old Satoshi. This time he responded truthfully.

"I would... but...it would things seem awkward?" Satoshi wondered out loud. "After what's happened to us, won't it seem strange to do something like that?" He missed Yoshiki's almost comical reaction to him finally admitting he wanted to ask Naomi out. After pulling himself off the floor and back into his chair, Yoshiki tried to answer him.

"Well..." Yoshiki scratched the back of his head, unsure what to say at first. "You got a point..." He admitted after giving it some thought. "But if there's a chance, you should take it. Can you think of anything else that would cheer her up?" Satoshi shook his head. "You won't know until you ask or actually try." He concluded. "Might end up doing some good for both of you to do something normal." After that, he grinned again and gave Satoshi a light slap on the back. "I say go for it."

"...Thanks." Satoshi nodded, glad to see his friend looking out for him. He felt better having shared that dilemma, even if it still hung over him.

"Don't mention it. Damn." Yoshiki swore when the bell announcing the start of class rang and students started filing back to their seats. Naomi wearily raised her head for the lecture. Over the period, Satoshi found himself glancing over every few minutes.

_Should I?_ He wondered. Maybe it could be good for them. They could have some fun and, even if it was only temporary, forget everything else. Naomi might finally cheer up and remember there were other people that had been around her than Shinohara. But still, Satoshi couldn't shake the nagging thought that asking such a thing at a time like this when she was distressed wasn't right.

Once the day's class periods were up, everyone stood to leave. They both watched Naomi gather her things and leave the room quickly to rush home like always. As far as they knew, she never left home for anything but school now. Satoshi sighed.

"Like I said, you could probably cheer her up if you just asked." Yoshiki beat him on the shoulder as he passed.

"Is it that simple?" Satoshi asked himself. He sighed again, grabbed his stuff, and left behind everyone else. After Heavenly Host, nothing seemed simple anymore; everything always seemed bleak and just..._wrong_, was the only word he could think of.

But Satoshi still felt some sort of optimism, especially now that Yoshiki had backed him up. December had always been a month that brought joy across the entire country...maybe it could do the same for them? It was something to think about, at least.


	2. December 2nd

XX A/N XX

Cultural Context: Since once of the below lines may make some of you raise an eyebrow, fried chicken is in fact very popular as a Christmas dinner in Japan. Look it up, because the story behind it is quite interesting.

On reflection, Yuka is a hard character for me to write, since her personality jumps all over the place. Her way of speaking is strange to emulate as well.

X December 2 X

_Should I? _The question had been repeating itself in Satoshi's mind since yesterday, sometimes blocking out everything else. Thanks to Yoshiki's pushing, Satoshi was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance. But the nagging thought persisted: was it really right to ask at a time like this? After the school day ended, Satoshi found himself by the Academy's front entrance waiting and thinking.

"She's still really upset..." Satoshi admitted to himself. She was always saying how unfair it was that everyone else was gone. Would she get offended if he suggested they just act normal for a while and have fun like they were ignoring them? And then there was whatever she and Shinozaki had gotten into... "Gah!" He was caught off guard as something grabbed onto him.

"Big Brother!" Yuka hugged him and buried her face in his chest. Satoshi had been so busy thinking he hadn't notice her approach. He awkwardly patted her on the head.

"Are you ever going to stop doing that?" Satoshi ducked his head slightly at a few passing students who laughed or grinned at the sight. Walking home together had been habit before Heavenly Host. But now Yuka had decided ever time they saw each other required a hug. Satoshi supposed that was partially his fault; during the incident, he'd ended up leaving Yuka by herself despite promising not too. After that terrifying separation, he supposed he couldn't be surprised if she was a little more attached.

"Nope." She let go and grabbed his hand.

"Yuka..." Satoshi sighed but didn't argue. Hand in hand, they started walking home. Being spoiled by their parents, Yuka never had acted mature, and Satoshi had found it annoying sometimes. But he was actually kind of glad to see it now. Heavenly Host had taken its toll on Yuka's young and naïve mind. She'd wake up in the middle of the night screaming from nightmares and would need new sheets. During the day she'd been quiet and subdued like the rest of them, something the siblings' parents had noticed quite easily. Even if it was her annoying side, Satoshi was still glad to see her acting somewhat normal again.

The season probably had something to do with it; Yuka had always adored December, and not just because she loved the snow. She still got presents from their parents, even though Satoshi had longed stopped receiving them. She'd probably still get one this year too, but it would probably be the last. She'd turned 14 in September too, so she was already too old for the parties they usually held for children, however much she hated it. But at least they could both always look forward to Christmas dinner, fried chicken and Christmas cake, with their parents.

It cheered him up. But if Satoshi could decide if this year he'd have something to do on the 24th, then he'd be a lot happier...

"Big Brother, what's wrong?" Yuka asked. Satoshi hadn't realized his feelings were showing on his face. That was something he'd been having trouble with ever since they got back, once guilty thoughts started plaguing all of them all hours of the day.

"Ah...Nothing, Yuka." Satoshi tried to turn the conversation in another direction. "You're glad it's December again, huh?" She nodded eagerly. "I'm glad to see you're acting happy again." Satoshi told her.

"Why aren't you happy?" Yuka asked, catching Satoshi off guard again. Yuka could be annoyingly persistent.

"It's... nothing for you to worry about, Yuka. Just forget about it." Satoshi said quickly, and they walked in silence till they got home. Yuka had stared at the ground for most of the time, and Satoshi wondered if he'd upset her. She was probably just worried for him, but Satoshi really didn't want to let her worry about him when she was finally acting better.

But Yuka was an insistent girl. And even if she naïve in many subjects, she wasn't stupid. Actually, she could be surprisingly smart when it came to certain matters, so Satoshi wasn't all that surprised when she came to her own conclusion about what was bothering him.

The day ended and he'd just been settling into bed. Both sibling's rooms were connected, and it wasn't uncommon for Yuka to barge in whenever she wanted. "Big Brother?" This time though, she poked her head around the door instead of coming in.

"Huh?" Satoshi had just about dozed off when he heard her. "What is it?" He sat up to face her. She meekly stepped into the room and walked over in her pajamas.

"Umm." She clasped her hands together and stared at the ground for a moment before looking back up. "About earlier... did it...have something to do with Naomi?" She asked. Satoshi awkwardly glanced around. Yoshiki, he didn't mind. But he really didn't think this was a issue he should discuss with his little sister. But she probably wouldn't let it rest until he told her.

"Yeah." Satoshi admitted, feeling embarrassed.

"Is she okay?" Yuka asked. The two girls had struck up a surprising good friendship during the small time together in Heavenly Host. That was the reason she'd decided to wait at the hospital with them. And why'd she asked about visiting her or having her visit since she'd gotten out, at least until Satoshi explained Naomi still wasn't acting herself.

"She's...still the same." Satoshi sighed. Yuka sat down on his bed while he spoke. "I was hoping she'd cheer up once she came back. But she just always seems out of it. Even when the three of us are together, she's still depressed. I just wish we could do something to help her."

"Has Naomi told you what happened?" Satoshi shook his head.

"No, but whatever did really got to her. And right after Heavenly Host too. I'm worried she won't be able to pull through it all." Satoshi had been worried about that ever since they'd gotten back. Even after she resisted the darkening once, it had been clear to Satoshi when she'd told him what happened that she was still distressed about the whole thing. "I wish I could be sure."

"Well..." Yuka said thoughtfully as she swung her feet.

"Huh?"

"Yuka is happy and got better because Big Brother is here for her." She fell backwards onto the bed and turned her head to look at Satoshi. "Is Big Brother there for Naomi?"

"Uh...well..." Satoshi was taken aback. He thought he had been. He'd listened to her the day after they got back. He'd always greeted her everyday in school. He'd always tried talking to her, even though she never usually responded. Was that not enough? "I think... uh..." Satoshi trailed off when he realized Yuka was glaring at him. "I guess not." He finally admitted, sighing.

"Big Brother, you're a idiot!" Yuka sat up and jabbed a finger at him, suddenly looking annoyed.

"W-what?!" Satoshi stammered, taken aback. That outburst out, Yuka calmed down.

"You talked about finding everyone and surviving together." She reminded him, referring to what Satoshi had vowed right after the two of them had been transported to Heavenly Host. "Why are you abandoning them now?" Satoshi was baffled at the attack.

"I..." Satoshi faltered as a thought crossed his mind. _Have I done enough for them?_

"You need to be there for them!" Yuka insisted. "Your smart and brave and they need you!" Hadn't Satoshi already been there for them? "Don't let them get hurt too!" Now she was begging, and Satoshi understood she was just as afraid as he was that they'd still lose someone even outside of those cursed halls, and thought he was the one person who could make sure that didn't happen. He saw her eyes start to water and tried to reassure her.

"I'm there for them, Yuka. I'm trying." He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Stay positive, you've been doing really well the past few days."

"I'm not crying!" She insisted, laying back down. "You're an idiot!" She repeated, turning to look the other way. Satoshi didn't take it personally this time. He sat and considered what she'd said.

Right after they'd gotten back, Shinozaki had told them all to come to school the next day. She wanted to make sure everyone was okay, and that everyone looked out for each other. It was an act they all should've followed on. Had Satoshi really been doing as much as he could've? Was there something more he could've done. It was only two weeks after they returned that Naomi and Shinozaki had acted on their own. Could Satoshi have done something in that time to prevent them?

He thought about his friends for a while after that. About how a invisible rift seemed to have formed between them all since the disaster, which had hung between them and blocked everything else. A bit of defiance, an emotion that had driven him during the mis-adventure, found its way back into his thoughts. Why should they let that cursed place drive them apart? Why should they let it ruin their lives? Why should they let it make them disregard what their perished friends would want them to do?

The simple answer was that they shouldn't; They should stay strong and defiant and keep living how they wanted. The thought seemed to bring clarity to his mind, and he kept repeating it to himself again and again as motivation. When Satoshi did speak again, he sounded as confident as he'd ever been.

"Ok, Yuka. Thanks. I realize what I need to do now." No response. "Yuka?" Satoshi leaned forward and tapped her on the shoulder. She proceeded to curl up into a ball and start snoring. She must've fallen asleep while Satoshi was thinking. _It took me that long to decide?_ He shook his head. At least she didn't seem upset anymore. "Yuka, wake up. You have your own bed." No response. Satoshi sighed and got up.

"Come on." He picked her up and carried her to her own room. Mature and insightful sometimes, just not always. After she was tucked in, Satoshi returned to his own bed and laid back down, but didn't sleep. Instead, he thought. No, he plotted. He _would_ make sure they all went on with their lives and that Heavenly Host wouldn't stop them from being unhappy.

Yuka was right, he _had _made that oath to help his friends, and it certainly hadn't ended once they were out of the school. He still had to help his friends even now. Maybe if he'd paid more attention, Naomi and Shinozaki wouldn't have attempted whatever they'd done. Well, he'd do his best to prevent anything like that happened again, and his first step was to help Naomi.

Yoshiki had been right about that too: Satoshi had been the closest person to Naomi after Shinohara, so she'd respond to him. She needed cheering up. Something to show her she wasn't completely alone and misunderstood. That people still cared. And he wanted to prove that to her and that she should move on, just like Shinohara wanted.

Maybe he shouldn't have stopped with just himself either; Yuka and Yoshiki were Naomi's friends too. They definitely didn't want her to be sad either. Maybe the three of them could do something together for her; it was a holiday season and Naomi's birthday was on the 14th... But Satoshi did still did like the idea of the two of them spending the 24th together.

It was decided then: He'd definitely ask Yuka and Yoshiki to help him set up something for her... And...

"I'll ask her." Satoshi said to himself, still confident. He decided then and there: "I'll ask her to go out with me. That place won't haunt us forever." He had a plan, now he just had to carry it out.


	3. December 6th

X December 6 X

_I'll ask her out...tomorrow. _Satoshi kept telling himself that every day after he went home without success. He wasn't backing out; he really did want to ask Naomi out. He just... froze up every time he tried, even with the newfound confidence.

If it had been the old Naomi, he would've feared rejection or mockery. But the Naomi that Satoshi ironically missed so much was gone. Instead was this new, seemingly emotionless one. Most of their conversations since she'd returned had been so one sided, he wasn't sure how to approach the subject. He'd actually gotten close (relatively) yesterday during a break period when he'd gone over to her desk.

"H-hey, Naomi." He'd stuttered.

"Hmm?" She'd looked up. "Satoshi?" She'd asked. And he couldn't bring himself further. The emptiness in her eyes and her tone had sapped away any resolve he come over with. He'd just made awkward small talk about class and retreated to his own desk at the first chance he had. He wasn't proud of that.

Even worse, it started to put subtle doubts in his mind. _Did_ Naomi still care about him or any of the others? If what her mother had said was right, Naomi was still pretty distraught over Shinohara. Satoshi still quite clearly remembered the conversation he'd had with Naomi the evening of their first day back, and how much she'd cried about Seiko.

Was there something there Satoshi had missed? Sure, everyone had noticed how eccentric the two's friendship had been...but was it just that- a friendship? If that wasn't the case, making a move now definitely would be the wrong thing to do. The thought was making Satoshi more and more reluctant, even after his resolve.

Unfortunately for him, it didn't go un-noticed. What's more, Yoshiki had actually bothered coming to school the past few days to watch, apparently growing annoyed with each passing one. When lunch time rolled around the following day, Yoshiki had, rather forcefully, dragged him from the classroom and up to the roof.

"What the hell?" Yoshiki asked him. "You asked Nakashima yesterday, didn't you?"

"N-no." Satoshi admitted. Yoshiki slapped a hand to his face.

"Idiot." He muttered. First Yuka and now Yoshiki were calling him that? "You're going to miss your chance. You've probably already missed a chance to book a date anywhere nice as it is." He was right about that. While Satoshi had been debating what to do, other people had been making reservations for the 24th months in advance. There were other, free things to do on that day of course, but things like a romantic restaurant dinner were considered a staple.

Then again, taking Naomi to a crowded public place might not have been a good idea. That was a sad thing to consider when planning a date.

"I'm trying." Satoshi scratched the back of his head. Why did it seem everyone else was butting into this? "It's hard to talk to her when she's...like that..."

"Eh, you're probably right." Yoshiki admitted reluctantly and looked at the ground. The situation descended into one of the awkward silences that were always common whenever they were even remotely reminded of Heavenly Host around one another. Satoshi thought back to his previous resolution and risked a question.

"Still have nightmares about it?" Satoshi asked. Even if Yoshiki had been holding up better then any of the girls had, Satoshi knew he lived alone and that the they were the only friends he had, so something probably was off.

"Huh?" Yoshiki looked up. "I guess." He admitted, not making eye contact.

"Me too." Satoshi admitted. "Yuka's been having them a lot too."

"That's tough." Yoshiki commented. "But I guess its not surprising."

"No, it isn't." Satoshi agreed. "But I was thinking..." He caught Yoshiki's attention. "We've let it affect us too much...We should move on. It's what our friends would've wanted. What happened to Naomi and Shinozaki...I think it could've been avoided if we hadn't been ignoring it." Satoshi could see Yoshiki's face twist as the idea occurred to him.

"Yeah..." He scratched his head. "Damn, I was stupid."

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Satoshi said quickly. "We can't change it now... But we have a second chance. Naomi and Shinozaki really need help about this, and this time we need to be sure we do something for them." Satoshi said determinedly.

"Heh." Yoshiki laughed at the serious look on Satoshi's face. "For someone as cowardly as you were, you can really take control of a situation." Then Yoshiki frowned and scratched the back of his head as if to dismiss a nagging thought. "Anyway, since you've thought of this, you got a plan?"

"Nothing exact." Satoshi admitted. "But I was thinking three of us- You, Yuka, and me- could get together and do something for Naomi. Show her she still has friends who care about her. I still need to ask Yuka about it, but how about you?"

"Of course!" Yoshiki snapped, then calmed down. "Can't let...whatever happen again." Another momentarily silence before Yoshiki got an idea of his own. "You know... we should do something for Shinozaki too."

"Is she getting better?" Satoshi asked. Admittedly, he didn't enjoy going back to that hospital. But since Yoshiki visited almost everyday, he was a good source of how Shinozaki was doing.

"No." Yoshiki answered without hesitation. "But it doesn't matter. All of us should still go visit her in the hospital anyway."

"Yeah, we should." Satoshi nodded.

"We _will_." Yoshiki corrected him. "Damn." He muttered when the bell rang signaling the imminent start of next period. "Tell me when you get your sister in on it, and we can start planning." He started walking back.

"Got it. And Yoshiki!" He stopped. "If you ever want to talk about...it, I'm here." Satoshi told him. Yoshiki grinned and nodded.

"Thanks. Same goes to you." Both left the roof and headed back to class. The negative cloud that had seemed to constantly encompass them seemed lighter just then.

Satoshi was glad for the progress he'd made in the last week. It didn't seem too long ago they were trapped in that school with no hope... It was nice to have that back. Waiting later that day at the front gate as usual, Satoshi felt optimistic that it would continue.

"Big Brother!" As always, Yuka careened into him and hugged him.

"Hey." Satoshi patted her head. "Did you have a good day?" He asked. She nodded. "That's good." A cold gust of December wind blew at them at that point, making both shiver. "We better get home." Satoshi suggested. Yuka agreed eagerly. They walked home at a brisk pace to escape the elements. Snow was bound to come sooner of later.

Once they got home, Satoshi decided to warm up a little before asking Yuka. The first thing she always did when getting home was stare at their Christmas tree for a few minutes anyway. He went up to his room, stored his school stuff, and laid down on his bed. His thoughts drifted from the tree to Christmas to December in general. It was, Satoshi reflected, fortunate for them the month known for togetherness had come at the time the group's friendship was strained to the near breaking point. What would they have done otherwise?

The bedroom door opened and Yuka skipped through on the way to her room to drop her stuff off. Satoshi stopped her on her way out. "Hey, Yuka? Can you come here for a minute? Gah!" By 'come over', he'd apparently invited her to leap on him. She just giggled and sat back while Satoshi shook his head.

"Anyway... Yuka, I thought about what you said." Immediately she was quiet and paying attention. "And you were right: we all do need to be there for each other. So I thought that all of us- Yoshiki agreed to help- could get together and do something for Naomi. I was wondering if you wanted to help."

"Ooh." Yuka was excited again. "What is it?"

"Not sure yet." Satoshi admitted. "But we want to do something to hel-"

"I want to help!" Yuka said quickly.

"I thought so." Satoshi smiled. "You really like Naomi, don't you?" She nodded. "Alright. I'll call Yoshiki later and we'll decide when to meet and talk about what to do. I'll tell you when we decide."

"Okay!" Yuka was clearly the most excited of them of this idea. It wasn't surprising she always wanted to help people. Satoshi wasn't feeling as excited, but he was still confident this was important.

Asking Naomi out also topped Satoshi's list as important. He wasn't going to forget that. But that plan was still stuck. They didn't have school tomorrow either. He could go to her house and ask... but Satoshi had some suspicious Naomi's mother would be weary of anyone interacting with her daughter...

_I'll still do it._ He insisted. _Before the end of next week. _He told himself. He would ask her...But he still wasn't sure if she'd say yes.


	4. December 7th

XX A/N XX

Factoring the cast's parents into the story was probably the second hardest bit, since they aren't mentioned much in the regular series, except for Naomi's mom (I haven't seen a fully translated playthrough of Blood Drive, so I don't know if they appear in it). I just have to guess what they noticed and how they interpreted it. I personally think no one can write any fic about the survivors after Heavenly Host and not include their parents. But that's just me.

X December 7th X

It was a Sunday, the one day of the week they didn't have school. Since all three of them had agreed on the idea, it had been decided have the first planning meeting today. When a meeting place was being decided, Yoshiki had invited both Mochida siblings over. By the end of the day, Satoshi hope they would've decided on a course of action.

Satoshi and Yuka were both wearing clothes suited to the weather: Scarfs, hats, and jackets. It was definitely going to snow next week, and the temperature was already in the right range. The weather never really seemed to matter on those special days, but otherwise it was inconvenient. After Heavenly Host though, the cold seemed to bother them a lot more.

That was part of the reason they decided to cut through the shopping district: it was warm, cheery, and welcoming. And it was a chance for Satoshi to have a quick glance around. He hadn't really been feeling into the time of the year before, but he was in higher spirits now and intended to participate. That meant he'd have to get something for his friends. Yuka had come to expect a present from him every year as well. And of course Satoshi was going to have to give Naomi something for her birthday and on the 24th...if she agreed to go with him that is.

Satoshi just browsed the windows and listened to employees shout about what they still had. Yuka, by comparison, was trying to get a look in every store they passed. Satoshi was having a hard enough time just keeping ahold of her hand in the throng of people without her running ahead, falling back, or going around him to catch quick glimpses. She'd done stuff like that when she was little and their family was out shopping: always saying she was cold or had to use the bathroom just for a chance to go inside the stores and look. Their parents had obliged, of course, and Satoshi still didn't want to go against her now when she was acting like her old self.

Satoshi was content with just looking at the window displays. He could always come by himself another day, although it would probably still be crowded. He hadn't given much thought yet on what to get everyone though. He'd have to get to that soon. He was cutting close by leaving so many things undone by now.

Yoshiki lived in what was regarded as the 'bad' part of town, so Satoshi told Yuka to stay close. But even here there were lights strung up and it looked cheery; This season really did do a lot for people's moods. Yoshiki had sent Satoshi directions, so he didn't have that much difficulty finding it. It was a bit of a run down apartment block, like the kind Ms. Yui had lived in.

"He lives here?" Yuka asked as they approached the buildings.

"Yeah." Satoshi answered as they started looking for his door. Yoshiki wasn't a bad guy, no matter what anyone said. A bad guy certainly wouldn't have voluntarily gone back to that hellhole to help his friends. He just lived where he could with his circumstances. "Here." Satoshi spotted the door number Yoshiki had given him. They both went up and knocked. A moment later, Yoshiki opened the door.

"Hey." He stood there in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. "Come in." He stepped to the side. "I was wondering if you guys would ever find it."

"It was a long walk." Satoshi explained as they both stepped inside.

It wasn't a luxurious apartment by any means; it was definitely old and had seen a high number of inhabitants. But for being owned by a High School student and part-time worker, it was still pretty impressive. The place looked like it had been cleaned pretty recently too. Satoshi didn't think Yoshiki got many visitors, but he'd certainly made the place hospital enough.

"Cold?" Yoshiki wondered as they shrugged off their coats. They both nodded. "I made some hot tea." He motioned to a table he'd set up by the couch with three glasses on it.

"Thank you." Yuka nodded cordially before rushing to grab a seat.

"Thanks." Satoshi nodded. "It's a nice place." He commented.

"Good enough." Yoshiki shrugged. Both took a seat. Like Yuka, Satoshi reached for the tea that had been laid out. Yoshiki chose to jump right to the topic at hand.

"So I was thinking we could all go visit Shinozaki in the hospital." He suggested. "Maybe on Christmas. We can all get her something and leave it there for her when she finally recovers. It'd be a good surprise, right?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Satoshi admittedly hadn't been thinking of what they could do for Shinozaki, since she was stuck in a hospital bed. But he couldn't fault Yoshiki for that; he really did care about her. "Is she awake?" He asked. Yoshiki frowned and sat back with his arms crossed.

"No. They've always had her sedated when I was there. But I think she can still tell if someone if visiting." Yoshiki insisted.

"Oh." Satoshi thought about it and nodded. "Yeah. That does sound like a good idea. We probably shouldn't get her any occult stuff though. But I'm sure there's other things she likes."

"There is." Yoshiki assured him. "She has a thing for manga and anime. And games if you'll believe it. Not just that creepy stuff." He glanced over to a shopping bag they hadn't noticed coming in. It looked rather full. Had Yoshiki already gone shopping early?

"You were thinking about Shinozaki was a while, huh?" Satoshi laughed when Yoshiki's composure cracked. Yuka, who'd been watching and listening up to this point, giggled. It was good to laugh again.

"Eh." Yoshiki averted his gaze. "So what?" He snapped in embarrassment. "Are we doing that or do you got a better idea?" Satoshi thought about it. The idea of seeing Shinoazaki in a hospital- hooked up to machines and covered in bandages and such- made him shudder. But what friends would they be if they ignored her because of that?

"No, I think that'll work, but we might have to discuss the date." Satoshi said. Christmas was an affair normally spent with family. Yoshiki was on good terms with his little sister, but otherwise wasn't obligated to spent Christmas with anyone else, unlike Satoshi and Yuka. Behind him, Yuka nodded in agreement. "I guess we can start looking for things to get her anyway. You should probably check ahead though when they'll let us see her." Yoshiki said he would, and with that they come to an agreement on what to do about Shinozaki.

"So then..." Yoshiki stretched and changed the subject. "What are we going to do about Nakashima? Aside from you asking her out that is."

"Wah?!" Yuka's high pitch squeal made both of them spin around.

"Yuka, what's wrong?!" Satoshi asked quickly, expecting her to have accidently spilled tea on herself. But her cup was resting on the table. Her face was red and she'd clamped her hands over her mouth in embarrassment. "Yuka?"

"N-nothing!" She said quickly. She looked around at anything but the two of them. "Umm... where's the bathroom?" She asked suddenly.

"Uh, first door on the left." Yoshiki pointed to the apartment's small hallway and Yuka bolted. "Weird." He commented.

"She's still at that age where she's scared of dating, thankfully." Satoshi explained.

"So how about Nakashima?" Yoshiki brought things back to focus. "Her birthday is around this time of year, isn't it?"

"Yeah, the 14th. A week from now." Satoshi answered. "I think that's our best opportunity."

"A surprise party is out of the question." Yoshiki struck that idea down. Surprises were the last thing any of them wanted. "I don't think she'd want to do anything at school either. You know her, what do you think?" Satoshi had been considering that question for the past few days, and he'd come up with a few concerns first.

"We'll probably have to talk to Naomi's mom first...She might be too worried about Naomi going anywhere besides school." Satoshi could still remember seeing Ms. Nakashima speaking to the police and doctors and how worried she'd sounded. Satoshi had a feeling she might've had something to do with the idea of moving Naomi to a mental hospital.

"Probably." Yoshiki agreed. "So your thinking we should all take her somewhere?"

"Yeah." Satoshi nodded. "If she feels like it, of course. But I think it would cheer her up if we all spent some time together again. He haven't been doing that recently..."

"Huh." Yoshiki shrugged as the conversation drifted uncomfortably towards Heavenly Host and what it'd done to them. "Sounds like we got a plan now. I guess you should talk to Nakashima's mom while I check the hospital's visiting policy."

"Right." Satoshi snapped back to the present. They _had_ come up with a plan, even if it'd had a few awkward moments. Things were still getting better. Yuka came back right then, so Satoshi filled her in.

"That sounds fun!" She'd been wanting to see Naomi for a while now, so she wasn't going to say no to the chance too. After that, things kind of stalled. They'd set an outline, but couldn't really do anything till they cleared the roadblocks they'd pointed out.

"I have some food if you guys want lunch." Yoshiki offered after several unsuccessful attempts to start conversation.

"No thanks." Satoshi shook his head; he didn't really want to intrude on his friend's limited income. "Yuka and me should probably just head home and we can pick up later."

"I might as well go visit Shinozaki today and ask." Yoshiki decided as he got up. Their visit had lasted about half an hour.

"Thank you for having us over." Yuka said politely as she and Satoshi stood as well.

"Don't mention it." Yoshiki shrugged. "It's nice to talk to people again." Satoshi heartily agreed with him. All three adorned winter clothes and stepped outside. They bid each other farewell and headed in different directions: the siblings home and Yoshiki towards the city hospital. Satoshi was especially in high spirits now that they'd taken the first step. He was going to remark about how good things were, but Yuka spoke before he did.

"Big Brother, are you really going to ask Naomi out?"

"Yeah." Satoshi admitted, somewhat embarrassed. "I thought it'd be a good way to cheer her up."

"I think it will." Yuka nodded, staring at her feet for a odd moment. Then she looked up, eyes bright and mischievous. "Naomi can finally be my real Big Sister!" She laughed as her older brother sputtered and quickly looked away. He wasn't thinking THAT far ahead. Right now he just wanted to end the year without losing anymore friends. But... He shook the thought away, still embarrassed. Yuka continued to giggle at her accomplishment for several minutes.

"Where does Naomi lived?" After they'd walked about halfway home, Yuka had asked a serious question.

"Not to far from our house." Satoshi told her. They all lived within walking distance of Kisaragi Academy. Satoshi had gone by Naomi's house a few times, but that was it. He'd never been inside.

"You said you were going to ask Naomi's mom. We should do that now." Yuka suggested, and once again made her older brother sputtered. Today? Now? He'd no intention of doing it today. And going to Naomi's house meant... "Naomi might be there." Yuka stated the obvious. For her, that wasn't a big deal; she had wanted to see Naomi for a while. But Satoshi was less willing. If Naomi was so subdued in school, how would she act at home away from the pubic, judging eyes?

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Yuka." Satoshi told her.

"But I want to go_ noooow_!" She whined. At this point, Satoshi could do two things. He could forget his reluctance and go now, or he could crush his little sister's spirit after she'd been happy for so long. Always the considerate pushover, Satoshi ended up going with the first option, if only to avoid making Yuka throw a tantrum. It would probably be better in the long run anyway.

"Which house?" Yuka asked, looking around as they walked through the neighborhood.

"That one." Satoshi pointed ahead and to the right. Yuka craned her neck to look.

"Why isn't it decorated?" The house was bare of lights, the only one on the street.

"They...probably haven't had time." Satoshi skated around the question. Naomi's father had been killed in an accident a long time ago, so Naomi and her mother were the only ones there. Naomi certainly wouldn't do it, and her mom was likely too busy working. "Don't ask them about it." He told Yuka. She seemed to pick up it was something bad and nodded.

Satoshi felt his legs get heavier the closer they got. For the first time, he thought about how to phrase his request. Asking for permission like this would've seemed ridiculous any other time...but circumstances sadly weren't normal still. And suddenly Satoshi realized they were outside Naomi's house.

"Big brother, you're hurting my hand." Yuka complained.

"Huh? Oh, sorry?" Satoshi hadn't released he'd been attempting to ball his fists. He stared reluctantly at the doorbell. If Naomi was here... "Ah!" Yuka had leaned forward and pushed the button herself. No turning back now. He waited anxiously till the door opened and out stepped a woman, the same one they'd seen at the hospital.

It was easy to see where Naomi had gotten her looks from. From a distance, it might've been hard to tell the difference; the hair was so similar. But that was the only similarity. Otherwise, she was taller then Naomi. Both siblings were started when she walked forward. The age on her face showed, but that wasn't what had spooked them. She looked somewhat gaunt, and had dark marks under her eyes like she hadn't slept recently. Satoshi wondered if it was because of Naomi.

"Yes?" She asked, approaching the gate and seeing the two of them. She must not have recognized them then.

"Hello, Ms. Nakashima." Satoshi said awkwardly, wondering if Naomi had ever mentioned them. "Uh...we're Naomi's friends." Yuka waved hello.

"Oh." She seemed surprised, and then slightly embarrassed. "Naomi's not feeling well at the moment and..." He paused for a moment, sounding like she was about to send them off. "I'm sorry." She moved forward and unlocked the gate. "Would you like to come in?" She asked.

"Y-yes, thank you." Satoshi stuttered. It was a quiet little house, much more warming and welcoming then Yoshiki's apartment. "Please, have a seat." She motioned to the couch in the living room. Satoshi sat down, still feeling awkward. Though till holding his hand, Yuka was looking around for any sight of Naomi.

"I'm afraid she's sleeping." Ms. Nakashima spotted Yuka staring. "You're Naomi's friends?" She asked, sitting down in a chair.

"Yep." Yuka finally sat still. "I'm Yuka Mochida, nice to meet you."

"I'm Satoshi, her older brother." Satoshi introduced himself as well.

"Oh, well welcome, both of you." She nodded. She didn't look just tired, she looked flustered now. "I'm afraid Naomi really isn't feeling well right now. She's still recovering from that 'incident'." She paused for a moment. "I'm terribly sorry if I'm being nosy, but are there other more of you? Naomi's friends, I mean." Satoshi suddenly realized why she'd changed her mind outside and why she looked awkward: she was hoping they could tell her something about what was wrong with Naomi. Well, they did have some of the answers, just not all of them were believable.

"Yeah." Satoshi admitted. "A few of us." He realized he had to tread carefully here; saying something that could be proven false wouldn't be good for any of them. He wasn't sure how much Naomi had told her mom about Heavenly Host or their friends either. He had to be VERY careful. Trying to avoid any awkward questions of the sort, he changed the subject. "That's actually why-"

"Who is Seiko?" She cut Satoshi off before he could finish. "None of Naomi's classmates know of this girl, but Naomi insists she exists." Satoshi found himself backed into a wall. It was no wonder Naomi's mom had said she had poor mental health; Naomi really couldn't let Shinohara go. She must've insisted she had existed and that they still had done everything together, even if Shinohara had never existed in his world to anyone else. She couldn't look anything but crazy.

Neither of them answered. Yuka guiltily stared at the floor, giving it away that they DID have something to hide about it. Try as he could, Satoshi couldn't hide the look of depression and fear from appearing on his face. Even if he'd grown into the habit of not referring to his friends, he was sure he wouldn't be able to come right out and say 'they never existed'.

Satoshi regretted coming here. At that moment, he actually regretted this whole plan. He wanted everyone to _move on_, not confront things head on. Naomi's mother read their faces easy enough. But when she spoke, she sounded desperate rather then angry.

"Please..." She asked. "Please tell me what you know. I have no idea what's affecting her. She use to be so happy... I just want my daughter back. Just tell me, please." She begged. Yuka, probably uncomfortable being stared at so much, buried her face into her brother's side. Satoshi gulped and tried to think of a response that wouldn't hurt anyone and still pass as plausible. If she'd talked to a lot of their classmates, she'd probably check anything he said.

But nothing came to him. He'd been forced into a corner from which there was absolutely no escape. Everything was about to be ruined. _No, it's not. _That resistant part of Satoshi's mind spoke back up again. He couldn't tell the truth, but he still had to say something to answer her. How could he not, when this woman was willing to interrogate her daughter's friends just because she was so worried about her?

_Does Naomi realize so many people are worried for her?_ He wondered. He finally thought of something to say. It was a gamble of whether or not it would work, but at this point it was the only remaining option: lying.

"Ms. Nakashima... We're really not sure why Naomi is acting like that." Satoshi lied. She hung down her head, sighed, and didn't raise it again. Satoshi tugged at the collar of the winter clothes he was still wearing, starting to sweat from the awkwardness. Yuka came out of hiding and stared pitifully at the sad woman sitting across from them.

"Ms. Nakashima..." Satoshi started again, piecing out his words as he spoke. "We really don't know... But Naomi's our friend...We want her to feel better too... That's why we came over." She finally raised her head and slumped back in her chair, looking far more tired she'd seemed when they first saw her.

"Naomi's really not well." She repeated. "I'm glad she has such supportive friends... But I think at this point only professional care will help her."

"No!" Both Satoshi and Yuka yelled at the same time, startling the woman. If Naomi was in the house, she most certainly would've heard that if she hadn't realized there were guests before.

"Ms. Nakashima, please! That won't help!" Satoshi insisted. At this point, he was so scared that keeping things a secret didn't seem important suddenly. "We can't tell you what happened...But please believe me when I say we're the only ones who understand what Naomi's going through! She _needs_ to stay with us!"

"He's right!" Yuka backed him up. "Don't send her away!" The woman just sat and stared at the two of them before sinking even further into her chair and putting her hand over her eyes.

"I just want my daughter back." Her voice cracked when she said it, but was firm when she started talking again. "Do you really think you can cheer her back up?"

"Yes." Satoshi said without any trace of doubt.

"Then I won't ask." She told them. Satoshi felt immensely relieved at having avoided that. Again, things seemed to be working out well for them. "What do you intend to do?" In an extremely awkward five minute conversation, Satoshi explained how all of them (one whole other person, but they didn't mention that) had talked about doing something for Naomi on her birthday to cheer her up and remind her that she had friends who cared for her.

"She won't." Naomi's mother shook her head near the end. "She never leaves her room and some days she wants to go to school, some days she doesn't." She paused for a moment. "But please...if all of you can still come and talk to her on her birthday, I'd be very grateful."

"O-okay then. We will." Satoshi was surprised at how quickly things had turned around. But it wasn't all that surprising when he really thought about it. This woman had done so much to try and reach Naomi and failed...she was desperate for anything that could work, even if she was in the dark about part of it. "Thank you, Ms. Nakashima. We really want the old Naomi back too."

Five minutes later, she walked back out with them and bid them goodbye. "Thank you." She said, sounding earnest now and looking much less grim. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you." Satoshi scratched his head awkwardly. The interrogation and lying still picked at his mind.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "Our visit probably-"

"Don't." She stopped them. "As long as it helps Naomi, I don't care."

"...Okay." Satoshi nodded. "We'll all come on Naomi's birthday. I promise."

"Thank you." She nodded again. Satoshi was sure it couldn't have been a more awkward departure then if they'd tried, but things again had come for the better. Still, as soon as they were far away enough to where they couldn't see the house, they had to stop and rest on the curb. Satoshi exhaled and rubbed his face with a slightly jittery hand, something he'd done in Heavenly Host after escaping a dangerous situation. That exchange had been nearly just as terrifying, if that was possible.

Too close. He'd skated far too close to revealing what happened. But what choice did he have? Naomi couldn't get sent to a mental hospital. She couldn't! Still... It wasn't good for them things had gotten to this point. He'd have to tread especially careful now. "Naomi..." Did she realize how she sounded? Did she know how many people cared about her? Seeing and hearing Naomi's mother had told Satoshi that Naomi was very, very far from over the situation. He sighed.

_Is this still a good idea? _He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Good job, Big Brother." Yuka congratulated him. "Now we're really doing something for Naomi! So cheer up!" Seeing her optimism, Satoshi was able to calm down slightly.

"Yeah... We are." He realized. "Sorry Yuka... I just didn't like having to talk to Naomi's mother like that." Yuka flinched a little, like she was still being stared at. "Don't worry, Yuka. Like I said, she's as worried about Naomi as the rest of us. Now we're all working together to help her." Privately, Satoshi wondered how Naomi failed to realize the amount of effort everyone was willing to put forth to help her. She had to be taking this harder then the rest of them combined!

He'd talk to her about that. He was still going to help fix things. And next Sunday was going to be a big step in the right direction.


	5. December 9th

Note: Yen is Japanese currency. From what I could find, in 2008 ten-thousand yen was about equivalent to 95 US dollars (I apologize if I have any reader's across the ocean; I couldn't find a reliable converter).

X December 9th X

It snowed on the 9th. It was just light enough to cover the ground and was still coming down. Despite the weather, Satoshi had decided to go gift shopping on that Tuesday after school. If he could strike it off his list, he could focus on the other things. He really had been putting it off for too long anyway. Hopefully he could still find something since a lot of shops had probably been picked clean already.

He been saving up allowance for a while, so he had about 10,000 yen total. It was a decent sum to shop with; none of them really wanted or had received extravagant gifts. Still, he had to get Naomi two things: one for her birthday, and one for the 24th. And of course he'd have to get something for Yuka, Shinozaki, and Yoshiki. He thought about that while he dressed appropriate for the weather.

Yoshiki was simple guy. Last year, he'd been fine with just getting food from everyone, probably because of how he lived. But he did have a fondness for music too; he'd always carried around an old CD player with him till it broke a few months ago. It was old fashioned, but Satoshi might've been able to find a working one somewhere for a low price.

Yuka wasn't too picky either. She'd always been fine with chocolate or stuffed animals as gifts. Satoshi probably could've tried to get her something any regular girl her age would like, but he knew he might as well stay with the tested and trusted path. Although the collection of stuffed animals Yuka had was too big as it was, so maybe he'd get clothes or something.

Yoshiki had mentioned what Shinozaki liked, so there wasn't much mystery there.

And then there was Naomi. Satoshi had thought ahead and decide getting her chocolate on the 24th was his best bet. It was simple, it was inexpensive, and it was popular. He was having trouble thinking of something to get her for her birthday though. Once he got down to the shopping district, he'd hopefully get some ideas looking around.

After he was dressed, he headed for outside. He decided to go out the back door, since Yuka was playing in the snow out front and wouldn't have let him go alone if she'd found out he was going shopping. He'd take her so she could get Naomi something later. Their mom was doing dishes in the kitchen and Satoshi explained where he was going as he passed. He was almost out before she stopped him.

"Satoshi. wait a moment please?"

"Huh?" Satoshi stopped with his hand on the back door and looked back.

"Your friend's mother called me this morning." She said, still doing dishes and not during to face him. Satoshi felt his heart skip a beat. Ms. Nakashima went through the trouble of calling most of Naomi's classmates. Why should he be surprised she tracked down where Yuka and him lived? He wanted to slap himself at that moment, but held off. Like before, he had to divert this.

"Oh, yeah..." He tried to sound embarrassed. "I wanted to ask for permission-"

"Satoshi." She still didn't turn to look at him, but he recognized a warning tone when he heard one. "We're not idiots." Satoshi was about to break into a cold sweat; like before, he was being cornered in a conversation. "Did you think we weren't going to be worried about our son being so jittery? Or that our daughter started wetting the bed again after seven years?"

"N-no." Satoshi admitted. Their parents had noticed the siblings weird behavior. They hadn't really pressed it all that much though beyond one instance in the past. Satoshi's father had sat down with him last month and asked straight forward if there was something he wanted to talk about and that he could tell them. Yuka had probably got the same conversation. Like Naomi's mom, they were just worried, but they still couldn't know.

"Satoshi. Something happened with you, your friend, and your sister." It wasn't a question, and she still wasn't turning around to face him. Satoshi felt more trapped then he ever had in that school just then. But then... "I'm not going to force you right now, because I know you're trying to help your friend. But understand this young man: we_ will_ sit and discuss this one day soon. " She warned.

"...R-right." Satoshi stuttered out and then, finally seeing a window, quickly got out the back down into their yard. Once he was there, he hunched over and started panting. He already had broken out into a sweat despite the weather. That had been too close, yet again. As he stood there hunched over, he cursed himself.

_Idiot!_ Of course their parents worried. And taking chances like he had with Naomi's mom wasn't going to help them at all. They had to keep things a secret... But that was starting to seem more and more impossible. If Naomi wasn't so insistent about it, they may have been able to pull it off... But Satoshi couldn't blame her. He couldn't blame anyone anymore about the situation and circumstances they were in. All he could do was try and deal with them. The thought calmed him slightly.

He'd set out to do something today, so he might as well still do it. His legs felt a little wobbly as he started walking, but he steadied himself soon. That was probably one of the few good things to come out of Heavenly Host: he'd learned to get over a shock quickly and keep moving. Soon enough, he forgot the panic he'd felt when being confronted.

Just like on Sunday, the shopping district of the city was packed. Satoshi hadn't expected any different. Even the shops on the side streets were crowded. He decided to start there anyway, since it wasn't as bad as on the main road. Plus, that was where the inexpensive stores usually were.

His first stop was a used electronics store. Yoshiki was the simplest one, so he might as well knock him off the list quickly. Luckily, the store did have a number of old CD players in stock, and he got one for a decent price of only 1400 yen. That was one person taken care of. Only know he'd have to go look in the more expensive stores to get something for the others.

While he walked, his cell phone rang. He picked it from his pocket and flipped it open. The caller I.D said it was Yoshiki. "Yoshiki?" Satoshi asked. He hadn't called about Shinozaki yet and he hadn't showed up to school either yesterday or today, although Satoshi had called to tell him about the plan for Naomi's brithday. "Something wrong?"

"Damn right there is!" He snapped, and Satoshi had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"What is it?" Satoshi felt a stab of panic. "Something happen to Shinozaki?!" He stopped, ignoring a few people that bumped into him from the sudden shift. He moved to the side of the way to not block anyone.

"No." Satoshi sighed in relief. "But I ran into part of her family when I came to visit today. Satoshi, you remember how Shinozaki always said she had a sister?"

"Yeah." Satoshi recalled her always being mentioned whenever Shinozaki would launch into something about curses or anything similar; occult interest apparently ran in their family. "What about her?"

"She's dead." Yoshiki deadpanned, and Satoshi felt himself shudder. "Just found out from her family that whatever nearly killed Shinozaki and Nakashima actually killed her sister... Apparently they just found the body. Was Nakashima in school today?" He asked suddenly.

"No..." Satoshi answered. "She hasn't showed up once this week...Why?" He was use to her missing some days, but now he worried.

"Because the police are looking into things again. Something really bad happened, Satoshi... Just thought I'd let you know what I found out and tell you to watch out for Nakashima." It was the first bit of real information either of them had gotten about what happened. It wasn't good news, but what else could they have suspected.

"Alright, thanks, Yoshiki." Satoshi told him. "How's Shinozaki doing?" Satoshi asked, changing the subject.

"Still unconscious most of the time." Yoshiki sighed. "I don't think I've seen her show one sign of life since they checked her in." Satoshi remembered how he'd felt seeing Naomi sedated in the hospital those weeks ago. Yoshiki sounded as depressed as Satoshi had felt.

"She'll get better, just you wait." Satoshi insisted. "She survived once already with your help, she'll do it again." Yoshiki laughed on the other end of the line.

"Thanks, Satoshi. You're a good guy. Anyway, remember how I talked about visiting on Christmas?" Yoshiki changed the subject to something more pleasant. It was a tactic both had seemed to adopt recently. "Well, her family wants to spend the 25th with her, and I guess I got to respect that."

"Ah." Satoshi acknowledged, glad Yuka and him wouldn't have to chose to spend time away from their family to visit on that particular day. "Should we do it the day after?"

"I guess." Yoshiki sounded like he didn't mind all that much.

"Ok then, I'll tell Yuka. I better get going; I'm in the shopping district right now."

"Don't forget to get Shinozaki something." Yoshiki reminded him quickly, and Satoshi chuckled.

"Got it. I'll see you school, Yoshiki. Bye." The call ended. Satoshi's mind drifted to the first bit of the call and he sighed. "Naomi...What did you do?" Someone had died during whatever happened. After Heavenly Host, death was something none of them wanted to experience again. And yet... He sighed again. _What had they done?_

Satoshi had a hard time continuing his shopping after that. His mind kept drifting. What had they attempted? Why? And why hadn't they come to any of them about it before hand. If it concerned Heavenly Host, they'd certainly have wanted to hear about it. So why did they...? He wished he knew.

He dropped by a book shop next. Since Shinozaki seemed pretty badly injured, she'd probably be bed-ridden for a while even after she woke up. Some reading material would probably be a good thing for her to have. Satoshi wasn't sure of her exact tastes, but decided mystery or romance might have been the best bet. In the end, he settled for buying two novellas, one of each genre, for about 2000 Yen. Not a bad deal really, though it only left him about 6000 yen to spend on Yuka and Naomi, and part of the later he had to save for the 24th.

Yuka was the last one on his list he was sure about, so he decided he'd get something for her first. He felt kind of silly going into the kid's section in most stores, but Yuka was who she was. Satoshi decided that Yuka really did have too many stuffed animals already, and skipped by that section. He instead looked around the clothes section. She had a love for dresses, but those were pretty expensive.

In the end, he ended up getting her a pair of shoes- white with pink stripes. It wasn't an extravagant gift, but again Yuka never wanted anything like that. She was always happy just to receive something anyway. Plus, the pair she already owned had been badly stained and scratched during their time in Heavenly Host. He was sure she'd like some new ones. That ended up costing him a little over half of what he had left.

Now came the hard part: deciding what to get Naomi. Satoshi wanted it to be something that really 'spoke'. Something that would surprise her. But what? Satoshi was at a lost and decided to wander around looking in shop windows for inspiration. When that didn't turn up any ideas, he started walking through the open market, where vendors had set up stands with wares to sell on them. Satoshi passed most of them by, but then a glimmer at the edge of his vision made him stop.

He turned and approached the stall from which he'd seen it. There, under a locked glass case, were various rings. But what caught his attention were several dozen silver rings in one case near the side: friendship rings. Satoshi had a sudden realization: that would be the perfect gift. They were all friends, and they would be friends forever now, bonded by tragedy. And the whole point of this to remind Naomi- no, all of them- of that fact. So what better gift for both occasions?

But then Satoshi saw the price: 2000 yen each. Satoshi wasn't sure if that was a good price for silver, but he knew it was too much for him, especially if he wanted to get one for everyone. His good mood evaporated. There was no way he'd get enough money on his own to get that. _Damn._ He sighed outwardly in frustration and started walking away before he had an idea: what is they all pooled their money? The three of them could give it to Naomi together, and later to Shinozaki.

He'd have to ask Yuka when he got home, but he could ask Yoshiki now. While he walked back to his house, Satoshi took out his cell phone and dialed his friend back. When Yoshiki picked up, Satoshi quickly explained his idea.

"Friendship rings? Heh." Yoshiki didn't sound too convinced at first. "You do realize usually only girls buy into that kind of stuff, right?" It was true that they were usually more popular with girls, but it wasn't rare to see guys wearing them either.

"I know." Satoshi answered, but he'd thought this through. "We're kind of outnumbered, in case you didn't notice." Between the five in their reduced group of friends, Satoshi and Yoshiki were the only guys. "And since they really like this stuff, don't you think they'll like it if we got some?" Satoshi could almost hear the gears working in Yoshiki's brain over the phone. "I think it'll send the message about what we all need right now, you know? Shinozaki was really keen on that kind of thing." Even if it had been a disaster, he judged Shinozaki by her pure intentions.

"Hmm." The last part seemed to have finally made him consider it. "How much are they again?"

"2000 yen each." Satoshi told him. "I still have about 3000 now, but I'll get my allowance on friday... If all three of us pool together, we should be able to get five."

"Well, I still wasn't sure what to get Nakashima anyway." Yoshiki admitted. "I guess I can contribute, but see if Yuka will join first. 5000 yen each is kind of steep."

"Ok. Thanks, Yoshiki." They exchanged goodbyes and Satoshi put his phone back and continued home with what he'd purchased so far. He'd get home and hide it and then ask Yuka. She had a soft spot for symbolic stuff like that too, so she probably wouldn't need too much convincing. He entered through the back door and headed up stares, having seen Yuka still out front. When that was done, he headed back into the hallway, only to be tackled.

"Ah!" He lost his balance and fell over.

"Hehehe." Yuka giggled madly as she sat on his back.

"Guess I didn't go unnoticed." Satoshi sighed. He never had. Though at least this year Yuka hadn't ambushed him at the front door again.

"What you get me?" Yuka asked that every year, and every year got the same answer.

"You'll find out in a few weeks." Satoshi smiled at the familiar game and got back up. Yuka tried to hold on to him, but couldn't get a grip with the gloves she wore. She settled for a couple of half-hearted punches that Satoshi barely felt. "Anyway, Yuka." He turned around and she looked up, curious. "Have you thought about getting Naomi anything for her birthday?"

"Umm." Yuka's face turned a light shade of pink. "I haven't thought about anything yet." She was clearly embarrassed.

"Well..." Satoshi pitched the idea he had. "Yoshiki already agreed to it. What do you think?"

"I like it!" She nodded. "You're really smart about these things, Big Brother!"

"Okay. I'll call Yoshiki and we can all go tomorrow." Satoshi decided. It was pure luck he'd happen across those rings, but then again things had been going good for them for a while still. It'd come to an end, eventually, but Satoshi was determined to ride it out as long as it lasted.

And hopefully it would till he asked Naomi out.


	6. December 11th

X December 11th X

"I never got why girls liked these things so much." Yoshiki held the ring in a thinly gloved hand. That particular ring, along with the one Satoshi had gotten, had a little black piece attached the front. The one meant for the girls was purely silver. He shrugged and put it back in the plastic box the merchant had given them to carry all five rings.

The box had already fogged over. It was snowing particularly hard that day. When the three of them had met up to go shopping, a day late since Yoshiki had been busy at work, Satoshi had been surprised when Yoshiki showed up in a tattered looking coat that had clearly seen better days. But he'd insisted he was fine.

Yuka, by comparison, was wrapped to the point of being nearly round. Their mother hadn't let her leave the house any other way due to the weather. She more or less waddled along side them than walked, and had to hold stubbornly on to Satoshi's hand to avoid falling behind as they stepped through the built up snow.

Satoshi was somewhat comfortably wrapped up, though the wind did break through the layers sometimes. "I hope the weather gets better soon." He had to speak up to be heard over the howling wind. The weather hadn't let up, and it had actually interrupted the normally crowded streets of the city. "If it's still like this on Naomi's birthday, it'll be hard to get to her house."

"Yeah." Yoshiki agreed. The plan had been to get together, go buy the rings, walk back, part ways, and go home. As the wind picked up though, Satoshi was becoming reluctant at the last two parts of that plan.

"Hey Yoshiki." Satoshi spoke up again. "Our house is closer. Why don't you come over for a while before going back home?" He offered. It would at least give his friend a chance to warm up.

"...Thanks!" Yoshiki answered after a pause, but he sounded relieved. So rather then part, they all stuck together till they got to the Mochida household. They all trudged up to the door and entered, thankful at the heat that washed over them.

"Satoshi, Yuka?" Their mother poked her head in the room to see if it was them. "Oh, who is this?" She spotted Yoshiki.

"A friend." Satoshi explained as they started pulling off layers of winter clothes. "I offered to let him warm up here before he went home."

"Oh, ok." She nodded. "Please sit and I'll make some tea for all off you." She offered.

"Thank you." Yoshiki nodded after a moment. He probably wasn't use to such things. Him and Satoshi were out of their clothes rather quickly and sat down on the couch. Satoshi set the box down to thaw, thankful it hadn't been out long enough to make the plastic brittle. They both sat back and enjoyed the warmth.

"Big Brother." Yuka waddled up, still covered in layers of clothing. "Help?" She was having trouble moving her arms enough to do it herself. Satoshi leaned forward and gave her a hand.

"Can you stop moving so much?"

"But I need to use the toilet!" She protested. Despite Yuka's fidgeting, Satoshi finally got most of the jackets off so that Yuka could get the rest herself and she thanked him before hurrying off. Yoshiki snorted after having watch the spectacle.

"You really love getting ordered around by women, Satoshi."

"Shut up." Satoshi grinned and sat back again. While they waited for Mrs. Mochida to come back with tea, Yoshiki leaned forward and opened the box once to look and then went back to being comfortably seated.

"You know something." Yoshiki spoke quietly after having made sure Satoshi's mother hadn't come back. "Remember how we said Yuki brought us back home before Shinozaki wanted to go back?" Satoshi remembered that part of the story, but he was more surprised Yoshiki was actually talking about it here and now.

"Yeah." Satoshi kept his voice low too. "You both came back for us."

"To be honest," Yoshiki glanced away while he admitted it. "I didn't want to at first. I was almost about to drag Shinozaki away..."

"I don't blame you." Satoshi said quickly, realizing Yoshiki was ashamed to admit it. "You're all my friends, but Yuka's my little sister. If it had been the two of us... I probably wouldn't have gone back."

"I can't blame you for that either." Yoshiki shook his head.

"Part of the reason you went back was because of Shinozaki, wasn't it?" Satoshi guessed.

"Mostly." Yoshiki admitted. "But..." He nudged the box with his foot. "I guess I didn't want to lose any of you guys too." He revealed. "I don't exactly have the most exciting life. All of you were the one part that wasn't boring. Seeing you getting pushed around everyday was always fun." He grinned then turned serious again. "I guess I didn't want to lose it. Still don't, since I'm doing this."

"Yoshiki..."

"Hey, don't get all mushy on me!" Yoshiki warned. "I was already getting a bad feeling when you talked about promise rings." He grinned when he said it, and they both ended up laughing.

_This is what I was hoping for._ Satoshi thought. _Everyone being honest and happy._ Yuka was acting happy because of the season, but things might change after the New Year. He'd have to do something to make sure she stayed happy after that too. In Japan, people tried to go into the New Year refreshed and free of guilt or worry from the last year. Satoshi really wanted all of them to be able to do that together.

Yuka came back and seated herself between the two. Yoshiki decided to ask an important question: "So what's the plan exactly come Sunday?" Both him and Yuka looked at Satoshi for the answer. "We'll all meet up and head over there together?"

"Oh...Yeah." Satoshi was surprised at first. "I think we should all talk to her first. Explain to her why we did this and how we're all supposed to stick together then show her." Naomi hadn't shown at school once that week so far, and it made Satoshi worry, and worry drove him forward. "We should all think of something each to say. Something personal." His companions nodded thoughtfully.

As they considered that, Mrs. Mochida came back with the tea. "Oh, what's that?" She noticed the box as the three of them each took one of the cups.

"Friendship rings!" Yuka shared excitedly. "They're for one of our friend's birthday!" Their mother raised an eyebrow when Yuka mentioned all her friends were Satoshi's own High School friends.

"Yeah." Yoshiki was in a good mood for a jibe. "It was Satoshi's idea. He wanted practice for when he finally gives her a wedding ring." Satoshi nearly ended up spitting his tea all over himself, Yoshiki had a good laugh, and Yuka's face turned pink at the implication. A small smile came on their mother's face after she made sure no tea had stained her table.

"Well good. It's about time he started thinking about such things." Yoshiki laughed even harder and Satoshi looked ready to sink into the couch. Yuka seemed stunned her mother would make such a joke. But then she turned serious. "When is your friend's birthday?" She asked cautiously.

"Sunday...the 14th." Satoshi explained. "Why?" His mother looked at them regretfully.

"You should see the weather forecast." She told them. A sinking feeling in his stomach, Satoshi reached for the remote and turned the television on before changing to the weather channel. The weekly forecast foretold of heavy snowstorms in the next few days, including Sunday, and warned it would probably shut down a lot of schools and businesses. Satoshi stared blankly at the screen and the remote slackened from his grip. Yuka gasped and covered her mouth.

Yoshiki summed up their reactions in two words: "Ah, crap."

XX A/N XX

Next chapter will be on the 14th. A very important one, obviously. Stay tuned until then.


	7. December 14th I

XX A/N XX

Due to the many events meant to take place on this day, I decided to split it into more then one chapter. I don't like making them all that long; people may lose interest. I'm posting this early, and the rest will be gradually uploaded as the day progresses.

These chapters will be the most pivotal in this story, so obviously I wasn't satisfied no matter how many times I rewrote them, but I had consistent ideas.

I sat and watched the Book of Shadows opening two dozen times trying to think of Naomi in this scene-uncooperative. I looked back to the games and I realized the best parts of Satoshi's personality is the rare moments when he's forceful about things (even though I admit this trait is more frequent in his original incarnation). And I thought love makes us act different then we normally would- more...desperate. I wrote this chapter with those three things in mind. If you think I did good, I'd certainly appreciate a review. And if you think I did poorly, I'm willing to hear that too.

X December 14th X

As the weather forecast had warned, there was indeed a snowstorm on that day. It was just over two degrees Celsius. Snow had piled up outside nearly half a meter high, and snow was blowing sideways at nearly 20 miles an hour. People were urged to stay inside, and most of the places in the city were closed. Cell phone service and power were hampered in some neighborhoods as well.

It didn't matter. It was just weather. Heavenly Host had been way worse in a lot of ways. Satoshi wasn't scared to confront it, not on this particular day with a goal in mind. The risks were well worth the reward: finally having his friend back.

So just after two o' clock, after having taken a bath, he dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt and started piling on all the cold weather gear he had. Wind banged against his bedroom window to remind him just how bad it was out there. When what he had wasn't enough, he went looking around the house for more. He was rummaging in a closet when his mother spotted him.

"So you're still going to see your friend on her birthday." She observed. Satoshi nodded wordlessly. "You must really like her." Satoshi nodded again, still looking for additional clothes. "We still want to know what happened, Satoshi...But your father and me are proud at how you've been helping Yuka and now your friend." Satoshi paused for a moment before continuing to search. "I guess I better go dress up Yuka then." She left.

Still searching, Satoshi sighed once she was gone. This wouldn't be the end of their troubles- their parents would be a whole other obstacle, and something surely would come up after that. They'd still have a lot to do even if they did rekindle what they'd lost. But they'd do it together, of that much he was certain.

Satoshi found a few extra caps, scarfs, and an additional jacket to add to what he'd already put on. He was having a bit of a hard time moving his arms, but he'd already put the box with the gift in his first coat pocket. It should be enough, he decided, and headed out to the living room where he could hear muffled protests.

"Hold still, Yuka." Their mother told her as she wrapped another scarf around her. Under the scarf he'd put on, Satoshi was grinning. Yuka literally was round this time, with her arms fixed outwards and unable to move due to the heavy layers of clothing. Her eyes, the only visible part of her left, glared like she knew what her brother was thinking. If their mother was actually letting Yuka go out in this weather, she must've decided whatever they were doing was important. "There." She stepped back. "That should keep you warm."

Yuka tried to waddle forward, tripped, and fell over. Her legs flailed as she tried to get back up. In spite of a case of nerves that were starting to come over him, Satoshi had a good laugh about it. "C'mon." Satoshi helped her back up. All three of them turned where was a sudden hammering on the front door, too loud and precise to be the wind.

"Who could that be?" Their mother wondered as she went to answer it. As soon as she opened the door, someone familiar stumbled in from the cold.

"Yoshiki!" Satoshi exclaimed, surprised at his friends sudden appearance. Yoshiki had on a old hoody this time along with his tattered coat, using the former to protect his head and face from the weather. A layer of snow had actually built up on his head and shoulders. "What are you doing here?" School had been closed since the 12th, and the phone lines in Yoshiki's part of town had been off since then too, so they'd had little opportunity to discuss the plan.

"What do you mean?" He was careful to not get any snow of the floor. "We had a plan for today, didn't we? Like a little storm would stop us." He was grinning. "Besides, I figured you'd want to be a hero and go anyway, and Shinozaki would kill me if I let you do something that stupid by yourself. It was only a few miles to get here anyway." He said earnestly.

"...Thanks." Satoshi managed. Yuka said the same thing, even if it didn't come out sounding right through the scraf.

"Well." Even Mrs. Mochida seemed surprised anyone would brave the snow just to come here and then go back out. "Would you like to stay a bit and warm up?" She offered.

"We probably shouldn't wait." Yoshiki shrugged. "You got the gift, right Satoshi?" He asked.

"Yeah." Satoshi nodded. "You sure you don't want to rest for a bit?" Yoshiki shook his head. "Alright then, I guess we should go."

"Satoshi." His mother was on board with them on this plan, but at the same time we was looking out for them, so her voice held a warning tone. "You be careful out there. And don't let anything happen to your sister."

"I won't." Satoshi promised.

"Good." She nodded and turned to Yuka. "Listen to your brother and be careful." Yuka nodded. "Alright... Go on then. I'm sure your friend is waiting to see all of you."

"We'll be back in time for dinner." Satoshi promised. "Come on Yuka." Satoshi motioned. Yoshiki and him each grabbed one of her arms and stepped outside, where the wind threatened to blow them back inside. They trudged forward, the path Yoshiki had made already having been filled in by more snow. The two boys had their heads bowed against the wind, and they more or less were dragging Yuka rather then she was walking.

Once they got onto the sidewalk and started walking, it wasn't so bad. The snow wasn't blowing directly at them, so they could at least look up. Visibility wasn't the best, but they could still recognize where they were and walked on from there. They didn't speak, because they knew they would have a hard time being heard. They knew where they were going anyway.

In spite of the temperature and the wind, Satoshi didn't feel the chill. He actually felt kind of heated, and he could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He'd thought about this day, planned for it, and prepared for it. Now that it was here though, he found himself very nervous. A million questions raced through his mind: What should he say? How would Naomi react? Was this really going to work? What would they do if it didn't?

Was he still going to ask her out? That question rang particularly loud. Satoshi hadn't gotten a chance to ask her since she hadn't shown up at school even on the days it was open, and he really didn't think approaching her at her home would've been wise. There was ten days till the 24th- definitely too late to get reservations for anywhere. But it still wasn't too late to ask. Maybe an opportunity would present itself while they were over there? Now he seemed to be absolutely overheating in all the winter cloths.

There was only one or two other people out right now, struggling against the elements. Even a few cars had been abandoned in the street, unable to move. They spotted at least one house where the wind had broken its windows. The three of them just kept going forward, street after street till they reached the block Naomi's house was on. The snow was packed higher here, but they could still move through it. Lights shown from houses, showing the power was still on. Satoshi was glad to see that; he hadn't thought about what to do if the doorbell hadn't worked.

Satoshi had to point it out, since Yoshiki had never been there before. They all trudged up to the gate and, after a few failed attempts, managed to push doorbell with a gloved hand. They waited. Standing still, the cold started to finally seep in as the wind buffered them relentless. They were about to ring it again when the front door opened and someone rushed out wrapped in a thick coat of their own. They quickly opened the front gate and motioned them to go inside, to which they happily obliged.

The inside of the house was nice and warm, and the shrill howling of the wind stopped as soon as the front door closed behind them. "Oh my." Ms. Nakashima breathed as soon as it was clothed. "I- I didn't believe you'd actually come." Her words sounded odd when Satoshi looked around the living room, which seemed a lot cleaner and spruced up then he remembered last time. And then Ms. Nakashima took off her coat, revealing not only had she dressed nice, but that she'd apparently gone through a lot of effort to remedy her tired appearance.

She hadn't expected them to come. But she'd clearly hoped they would. And now that they were here she looked absolutely relieved.

"It was no trouble." Yoshiki shook he head while he pulled off his hoody, brushing off a few bits of snow that had still gotten stuck in his hair. Satoshi was helping Yuka get off the layers their mother had put on her.

"Is this all of you?" She asked, looking a little unsure at the three of them.

"Yeah. Weather held everyone else up." Unlike Satoshi, Yoshiki was cooler under pressure. "Uh, I'm Yoshiki Kishinuma." He introduced himself when he realized Ms. Nakashima was studying him, or perhaps just his appearance; the clothes Yoshiki had been wearing under the hoody and coat were neither new or particularly in good shape. But she didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you." She nodded, leaving Yoshiki somewhat clearly embarrassed.

"Hello again." Yuka greeted once she was free of the cold weather gear. She'd actually put on a pink dress for the day, and had to smooth it out since it'd been rumpled by the snow pants and coats she'd been stuffed into.

"We decided the weather wasn't too much of a obstacle." Satoshi explained. "Especially not today."

"My daughter has such good friends." She murmured. She opened her mouth as if to add something to that, but held off. Satoshi had a gut feeling it was something along the lines of 'real friends'. She may have cared, but she never could truly understand. But that's why they were there.

"Is she up?" Satoshi asked once all their cold weather clothes were hung up. At that, Ms. Nakashima sighed and shook her head, suddenly looking just as despondent as she had the other day.

"After you two left the other day...I found her standing in the stairwell. I think she may have overheard our conversation. She's been cooped up in her room since then, and she's only come out to eat twice since then..."

"..." Satoshi and Yuka both cast their eyes to the floor. Had something they said upset her? It would've explained why she hadn't shown up at school that week. But only eating twice? That couldn't be good for her.

"Big Brother..." Yuka said uncertainly.

"Please don't worry. It's probably my fault for trying to talk to her afterwards." Ms. Nakashima shook her head. "I'm certain she'll be very pleased to see you all." She tried to reassure them. "I could take you to her now if you'd like." Satoshi felt a trickle of sweat run down his face, and he was suddenly aware again of how nervous he was. The box shook in his hand, and he looked at the others for confirmation.

"Ready!" Yuka sounded peppy enough. Yoshiki nodded.

"Ok." Satoshi nodded. "We're ready." Ms. Nakashima nodded and showed them up to stairs. All the while, Satoshi was focused on keeping his legs moving. The closer they got, the heavier they seemed. The closer they got, the tighter his throat seemed too. He was actually _afraid_ of what he was going to see up there. He had to assume Naomi was entirely different at home, and likely for worst.

From behind, Yoshiki reached forward and gave him a few firm pats on the shoulder. From beside him, Yuka smiled and nodded, as if to say _You can do it._ Swallowing his reluctance, Satoshi straightened up and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. The four of them stopped outside the door to Naomi's room, identifiable by a little sign with a dog she'd hung on it. Satoshi noted, apprehensively, that the door's lock had been removed, likely for the safety of one party or another.

"Naomi?" Her mother cracked the door and spoke into the room. "Are you awake?"

"Go away!" The response was immediate, loud, and full of venom. Yuka squeaked and ducked behind her brother, who had taken a step back. They'd never heard Naomi speak like that before...

"Naomi," With an incredible amount of patience, her mother stayed calm. "Your friends are here to see you."

"Oh, so now you say they exist?" Naomi's voice was full of jeer, and her mother winced. Had this been what they'd talked about after Satoshi and Yuka had visited?

"Naom-"

"Go AWAY!" She shouted again. They heard a crash like something was being thrown. Ms. Nakashima stepped back, closed her eyes, and breathed in and out for a moment before trying again.

"Naomi, they came to see you for your birthday." No response. Naomi's mother sighed. "They're just going to come in and say hi to you, okay?" No response again. Ms. Nakashima sighed, pushed the door open, and stepped back. Satoshi momentarily forgot how to breath when she motioned for them to go inside. Everything this past week was about to pay off... His face turned red and he felt his legs start to wobble before Yoshiki gave him an encouraging shove forward. With Yuka pulling on his arm now, Satoshi had no choice but to go forward.

It wasn't a large room. Like most rooms it was quite narrow. A teddy bear sat above a dresser sitting against the left wall, and in the left corner was a desk for work. Hung on the right wall was a bulletin board with various things pinned to it. A pair of curtains were drawn tightly across the window, which made the room seem even darker since the lights were off. Below the window was a bed adorned with pink sheets which covered something noticeably human shaped. It didn't budge when Ms. Nakashima flipped the light switched on behind them and stepped out of the room. They all listened as she walked down the stairs, leaving a still silence in the room.

The three of them stood there awkwardly looking at the mound under the blanket. Satoshi opened his mouth several times, but nothing came out. He wasn't sure what to say. It was the same problem he'd had at school: This wasn't the Naomi he knew, the one he was used to talking too. He had no idea how to approach this one. As the silence dragged on, Yoshiki broke the silence.

"So... You're spending your 17th Birthday in bed? I thought I was lazy." Satoshi was about to uncharacteristically snap at him to shut up, only to jump in surprise when his friend's blunt approach earned a response. The blanket shifted and Naomi sat up suddenly to stare at them. They all recoiled and Yuka shrieked not only at the sudden movement, but her appearance.

Her hair was a complete mess, frayed and clumped and sticking up in some places. Her eyes, wide from surprise, had nearly pitch black marks underneath them, and her seemed puffy and red. The yellow pajamas she was wearing seemed to cling to her, probably from sweat. Their senses suggested she hadn't washed herself in quite a few days. They'd never seen anyone so dis-shelved before, let alone Naomi.

Satoshi was appalled. This looked nothing like the Naomi he'd known. Had Heavenly Host really done it? Had it taken her away from them? Was she gone forever?

_No. _He would've thought that if not for the eyes. Her eyes, full of shock, full of recognition. Even now, her face was starting to redden because she realized they were in her room while she was still wearing pajamas. That was how Naomi had been before: self-conscious. That proved the old Naomi was still there. The girl he'd always known. The girl he'd saved in Heavenly Host.

The girl he _loved._

"Hey, Naomi." Satoshi greeted her, all anxiety replaced by determination.

"H-hi Naomi." Yuka came out from behind Satoshi to wave.

"Hey." Yoshiki greeted, standing near the back of the room with his hands in his pockets.

"Satoshi...Yuka...Kishinuma..." Naomi realized blearily as her eyes swept over them. "W...W-What are you guys doing here?"

"C'mon, you forgot your own birthday?" Yoshiki asked. "Good thing for you we remembered for ya'."

"Happy birthday!" Yuka chirped.

"Yeah. We weren't going to forget." Satoshi told her. Naomi blinked, still confused. She glanced from the three of them to a calendar tacked on the bulletin board.

"My...birthday?" She murmured and stared off into space for a moment. Satoshi was hopeful for a moment she'd remember and perhaps cheer up. Then, to his surprise and horror, she started crying again. In just seconds, she was sobbing loudly. She fell back and yanked the covers back over herself, shaking under them.

"Naomi!" Satoshi stepped forward.

"Naomi?!"

"Nakashima?" They were all in shock at the sudden change.

"N-Naomi, hey." Satoshi tried to calm her. "What's wrong?"

"Hey, cheer up..." Yoshiki was even more disturbed by the change. "It's your birthday, you're supposed to celebr-"

"Shut up!" She sobbed from underneath the covers. "Go away!" She told them the same thing she'd told her mother. Yoshiki recoiled at the explosive response.

"Naomi..." Yuka seemed ready to cry herself just because Naomi was. "You're supposed to be happy on-"

"I don't deserve it!" She snapped. "Go away!" Yuka back a few terrified steps back. Satoshi was stunned by her response. She didn't deserve it? Why would she say that?

"Naomi, what are you saying?" Satoshi wasn't sure how they'd gotten here just a minute into their visit. "Of course you deser-"

"No!" She cut him off. "Just go away!" And just like that even the slightest hint of the Naomi that was familiar to them was gone. All of them were quickly thinking over what they'd said to upset her, but they couldn't understand how reminding her of her birthday would set her off.

"Come on, Nakashima." Yoshiki tried again. "Are-

"I SAID LEAVE!" Naomi sat up suddenly and reached for the bulletin board. With surprising strength, she tore it from the wall and threw it at them. Yuka screamed and Yoshiki pulled her back. Satoshi jumped back as it impacted the ground right in front of him and sent papers and thumbtacks everywhere.

They retreated out of the room quickly after that, shutting the door behind them. They all stood there stunned, unable at first to understand what had just transpired. But it dawned on them soon enough: she'd attacked them. They'd tried to cheer her up and she'd attacked them for it. How had things fallen apart that quickly? Satoshi stared at the ground, starting to feel overwhelmed by everything till his companions both put a hand on his shoulder.

"Satoshi... it isn't your fault." Yoshiki shook his head. "You tried, man." He looked angry, but not at anyone in particular. It was probably _everything_.

"He's right Big Brother." Yuka tried to encourage him. "You tried, and that's what's important!" Even as she said it though, she was trying to stop herself from crying. That had been the first she'd seen Naomi since the disaster, and instead of the friendly girl she'd met, there had been this angry and violent one that didn't seem to care about them, who'd snapped at the smallest thing.

_Damnit._ Was it really going to end like this? After all that work, all that planning, all that hoping and good intention? They'd tried, they really had. How could it end in this much of a disaster? Satoshi couldn't fathom how, but the fact was it had been a disaster. They really had no choice now except to stop, or someone could really get hurt, even Naomi. The three dejectedly headed downstairs, and Satoshi realized they have to explain to Ms. Nakashima what had happened. What would happen then? Would she send Naomi to a mental hospital after all?

_Damnit._ Satoshi thought again and clenched his fists. Even after returning they were still losing friends. Was there an answer to any of this?

_"Please, take care of Naomi. She's on the verge of snapping..."_

"Huh?" Satoshi froze on the staircase and looked around, thinking he'd just heard someone. The others kept walking, oblivious. But Satoshi stayed rooted to the spot. He wasn't sure if he'd actually heard those words, but he recognized them all too well. Those were the words Shinohara's spirit had spoke to him, right before he'd saved Naomi from hanging herself.

Shinohara, selfless to the end, had forgave Naomi even if she'd killed her. She wanted her to live. To be happy. To move on and follow her dreams. And instead she was sitting in her room moping and isolating her remaining friends. How did she not realize that? How? It wasn't sadness or regret that Satoshi felt at that moment, but annoyance. They'd gone through all this trouble- Naomi's mother too- to try and help her, and she refused. Why? He clenched his fists again.

She hated herself. That was the only conclusion he could come do. She didn't think she deserved to live or be happy. Satoshi had to admit, on some nights the same thought had crossed into his mind. But they never bothered him for long, because he _knew_ that their friends wouldn't have wanted them to join them. They would've wanted them to _live _dammit! They wanted them to live because through them was the only way they lived on now... and they were letting them down.

Satoshi's knuckles were starting to turn white, and he found himself staring at his feet. He had never really had time or the will to be angry at everything that had happened to them. But now? He couldn't really help it, not when everything else had failed.

"..."

"Satoshi?" He looked up and saw Yoshiki standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Come on, man... We'll all sit down and figure out something different, ok? Something has got to work."

"Yeah..." Satoshi answered absentmindedly. "Hold this." Satoshi tossed Yoshiki the box.

"Wha?" Yoshiki just barely caught it. "What are you- Hey!" He shouted when Satoshi turned around and headed back up the stairs. "Satoshi!" He ignored him.

Satoshi wasn't ready to give up. They'd been startled to see how Naomi acted, but just because she was emotional wasn't justification for running away. The old Naomi was still there, and he was going to reach her. He owed it to everyone. He especially owed it to Shinohara. He had to make her see sense and live for their friends, and especially for Shinohara. If he could just make her realize that, he was sure things would get better.

Being gentle about it wouldn't help because Naomi didn't want to listen to what anyone had to say. That much was clear from watching the interaction between mother and daughter and how quickly she'd sent them off. Satoshi hoped being more forceful about it would help. He had no doubt Naomi's mother had tried being forceful, but she'd been forceful on all the wrong subjects. If Satoshi forced Naomi to consider the things only they could understand, he was sure it would work.

He wasn't an inherently mean person, and the thought of being so to Naomi when she was already upset made him feel sick. But after Heavenly Host, he realized doing the right thing didn't always mean doing nice things. And the truth was, even though he understood why she acted like it, he was still kind of mad at her. Mad at her for ignoring them. Mad at her for risking the secret. Mad at her for making them worry...

He already knew it wasn't going to be pleasant for either of them, but this was the only other thing he could think of that could reach her. And he was doing this to help her. He was doing this because he cared, because he wanted her back. He hoped she would realize that and forgive him.

"Naomi!" Satoshi barged in without knocking. She was still hiding under the covers. She didn't shift when he came in. "Naomi." He stepped over the bulletin board and up to the bed. "I want you to listen to wha-

"Go away." She ordered.

"No." He refused, feeling a little jolt when he did. "I'm not leaving till you hear me out."

"Go away!" She repeated again, louder.

"No." Satoshi refused again. "Naomi, you need to stop this."

"Get. Out." Even though she sounded threatening, Satoshi wasn't scared anymore. He knew that wasn't really Naomi talking.

"I'm not-

"I. Said. LEAVE!" This time, she sat up and screamed at him, again looking unrecognizable. It looked like she'd take a swipe at him, but Satoshi reached out and grabbed her arms. And for a another moment he saw the old Naomi when she looked surprised at the move. But then she started struggling. "Let go!" Satoshi wasn't particularly strong, but Naomi was a small girl, and she definitely hadn't eaten that much recently, so she couldn't break free.

She screamed and started thrashing, and for a moment Satoshi almost did back out. She looked absolutely angry, something he'd always been afraid of. But the dominant part of his mind reminded him this was necessary.

"Naomi!" His shouting made her stop and stare for a moment. He could see the confusion in her eyes. She knew it was him, but she'd never seen him act like this. "Listen to me." She was too dazed to cut him off this time. "You need to stop this because it isn't doing any good for anyone."

"No..." She shook her head, but didn't yell this time.

"Yes!" Satoshi realized he'd gotten her full attention now. She was too surprised and confused by his behavior to try and avoid him. "There's no point to it! Treating yourself like crap isn't going to bring them back!" He could see the anger flash in her eyes then, but didn't stop to let her yell again. "Why don't you realize that?!"

He felt bad for yelling at her, but he saw her become dazed again. She was hearing what he was saying. He was getting through to her!

"Naomi, please tell me." Satoshi slackened his grip and spoke softly once he realized she was calming down. "Why do you think you don't you deserve to be happy?" She averted his gaze and her voice shook when she spoke, but she didn't answer the question.

"Satoshi... Just leave, please." It wasn't an order this time; she was begging.

"First tell me why!" He was becoming frustrated again. So close to getting an answer... She fell back into bed and tried to pull the covers over her head, only this time Satoshi pulled them away.

"Just leave me alone!" She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow and started sobbing. It was painful to watch, but Satoshi still didn't want to quit. He turned his head when he heard a crunching sound to his right. Yoshiki was stepping over the bulletin board and walking over, looking reluctant and a little bit embarrassed. Yuka was peeking into the room from the doorway, her face wet. Satoshi wasn't sure how long they'd been watching.

"..." Yoshiki didn't say anything and glanced at Satoshi. He wasn't quite sure what his friend was doing, but he seemed to realize it was at least getting a response. That gave him confidence even though what he was seeing made his stomach churn.

"Naomi... we're not going to leave. You can't force everyone away from you forever." Satoshi told her. "So please...just listen to us." She stopped sobbing and lay there face down for close to a minute before readjusting herself so could wipe her face with her sleeve. Then she finally sat up and turned to face them, still looking like a mess. But she was paying attention to them now. They waited for her to speak first.

"Why are you guys doing this?" She asked, sounding tired now but not angry or depressed.

"Because we _care_." Satoshi answered immediately.

"Yeah." Yoshiki confirmed. "You'd think we walk here through a snowstorm if we weren't?" That seemed to grab her attention. Naomi scrambled over to her window and peered through the curtain at the howling white outside. She sat back, stunned. "Yeah, we came through that."

"Naomi." Satoshi went on. "You're our friend. We care about you, and we've been worried because of how you've been acting since what happened with you and Shinozaki." She didn't respond, so he went on. "So please, just let us help." Naomi was still staring blankly at her curtains after having looked through them. Satoshi thought she was still listening, so he said what he wanted to say.

"Naomi, you feel guilty for surviving, don't you?" She nodded.

"What, you think we aren't?" Yoshiki asked her, sounding insulted. "Shinozaki and me couldn't save Suzumoto. I haven't stopped regretting it, but you don't see me acting like this." Naomi hung her head down.

"That's not the same!" She snapped. "I killed Seiko with my own hands..."

"No you didn't!" Satoshi argued. "Naomi, nothing about that was your fault. Nothing!" He repeated. At the end, it all came back to Shinohara. That was the whole reason behind this. And that was also the key.

"Nakashima." Yoshiki continued to back him up. "He's right: you can't blame yourself for something you didn't do." She shook her head, still in denial. "It won't do any good." She shook he head harder, still refusing to look at them.

"Naomi, you need to try and be happy." Satoshi told her.

"How can I?!" She snapped. "When they don't get to be happy?! Why should I be able to celebrate my birthday when they can't?!" She started sobbing again. "Seiko's was supposed to be this month too..." Something clicked in Satoshi's mind, a fact he'd forgotten in his extreme focus on the issue at hand. Shinohara's birthday was in December too, on the 22nd. Him and Yoshiki exchanged glances.

_Damn._ Satoshi felt like kicking himself. No wonder Naomi had gotten upset; the two girls had always celebrated their birthdays since they were so close together. He should've remembered that instead of just worrying about Naomi. Yoshiki looked like he just realized how stupid they'd been. Well, it was too late for that; they had to keep going forward.

"Naomi, please just think about what I'm about to say." Satoshi took a deep breath before continuing, feeling bad for what he was about to say. "You think Shinohara hates you still?" She shook her head. At least she seemed to realize that much. "Really? Because I think she would." Naomi went rigid when he said it, and Yoshiki took a step back in surprise.

"Satoshi, I think-" But Satoshi ignored him.

"In fact, I think all of our friends would be mad at you right now."

"No-" But Satoshi went on before she could refute him.

"Naomi. Shinohara kept looking after you even after she died. She helped me find you so I could save you. She did everything she still could to make sure you kept your life, and this is how you repay her? By selfishly wasting it?" Naomi broke down completely after that, planting her face in her pillow and sobbing uncontrollably.

"He's right, Nakashima." Yoshiki said after a pause. He seemed disturbed at seeing his two friends acting so different, but to his credit he was still there. "They all wanted us to get outta there alive. It's pretty much insulting them to live like this." He seemed to have realized Satoshi approached, though he looked no more comfortable trying it.

"So please, Naomi, stop. No one wants you to be like this, so please just stop!" Satoshi begged. Once again, Naomi stopped sobbing and lay still for a moment before using her arm to wipe her face. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, but didn't stand up. She didn't look at them, but stared at the floor. Satoshi could feel how close they were to finally getting her back.

"It's not just for them. You're our friend Naomi, we care about you."

"W-w-we miss you!" Yuka called from the doorway even though she herself was still crying.

"Yeah." Yoshiki agreed. "We're all still here, so what about us?" He asked. It was at that point that Satoshi remembered he'd given Yoshiki the box. He was still holding it in his right hand. It was time to drive his point home. This had to work.

"Yoshiki." Satoshi pointed at it. He handed it over and Satoshi turned towards the doorway. "Yuka, come over here." She wiped her face on her arm and came over, carefully stepping over the bulletin board and thumbtacks still scattered on the floor. "Naomi." Satoshi turned back to face her. "Look at us." She raised her head. "We all put our money and got these. Do you know what they are?"

"Friendship rings..." She realized after looking in the box. Satoshi nodded.

"Right. They're meant to show how invaluable a friend is to someone. We bought enough for all five of us, because all of us are too important to each other to lose. We have to stick together and we have to help each other, no matter. We all went through the same thing; you aren't alone. So just talk to us, we'll listen."

"Yeah!" Yuka nodded vigorously.

"That's why we're here." Yoshiki agreed.

Naomi was silent for over a minute, just staring blankly at the box. The three of them watched her anxiously. Satoshi had said what he wanted to say. This had to work, because he had nothing else. She sniffed and they saw her eyes tear up yet again before she broke out into fresh sobs. That wasn't surprising, but what she did next was.

"N-Naomi!" Satoshi stuttered when she suddenly jumped up and hugged him. She was shaking and still crying and Satoshi could already feel a wet spot growing on his shoulder. He was too stunned to say anything till she detached herself and moved on.

"W-what the hell?!" Yoshiki took a step back before she managed to grab him too. He stood there scratching the back of his head and looking awkwardly around the room till she let go. Yuka expected the assault but still squealed in surprise when Naomi hugged her to her chest. While Yuka tried to avoid being suffocated, Yoshiki and Satoshi exchanged glances.

_Success? _Yoshiki seemed to say. Satoshi shook his head.

_Almost._ They both looked back at Naomi when she finally let go of Yuka.

"Guys..." She managed to choke out.

"Naomi, will you please tell us what's wrong?" Satoshi asked again. His heart hammered in his chest has it waited for a response. Naomi looked at each of them and then at the ground for a moment. She sniffed and wiped her face, and when she looked up she looked determined.

"Okay."

XX A/N XX

Having honest intentions doesn't guarantee you won't screw up. And sometimes you have to make people listen. The whole fic up to this point has revolved around this conflict, but now it's wrapping up. It'll be complete by next chapter, and then it'll finally be time to get this ship sailing. I know you're all eager for that.


	8. December 14th II

X December 14th X

"This is shaping up to be a weird day." Yoshiki rubbed the back of his head. The three of them were waiting in the living room. Naomi was in the bathroom taking a bath with her mothers help. After she'd finally calmed down and agreed to talk with them, she'd realized just what shape she was in and had embarrassedly made them leave till she made herself presentable. But she'd called through the door, quickly and sounded desperate, for them not to leave because she still wanted to talk. And so, they waited.

"Yeah..." Satoshi said uncomfortable. Now that they'd finally got Naomi to agree to sit and talk with them, he was wondering what the hell had happened to him back there. He'd never spoken to anyone like that before. The fact that he'd used Naomi and Shinohara's friendship like that... He must've been desperate to get Naomi to acknowledge them. Even then, he was embarrassed to think he'd done that.

The box with the friendship rings still sat in his lap. Despite that being the gesture that finally got Naomi to open up to them, they actually hadn't given her one yet. As soon as she came back they would.

"Big Brother?" Yuka was sitting next to Satoshi on the couch. She looked up at him timidly. "Why...were you being mean to Naomi just then?" She asked. Satoshi felt himself flush at the question.

"I wanted to ask that myself." Yoshiki admitted. "I mean, what the hell man? I've never seen you like that." Satoshi ducked his head as they both stared at him.

"I...guess I was just desperate to make her listen." He admitted. "She wasn't going to listen to us if we tried to be nice." The others mulled over that.

"Well... I can get that. Shinozaki was pretty hard headed too sometimes." Yoshiki nodded. "Still, that was weird to see."

"Big Brother?" Yuka was looking timidly up at him again.

"Yes, Yuka?"

"Promise not to ever be like that again!" Yuka looked serious all of a sudden. "That's not how you act!" She scolded. Satoshi laughed nervously at his little sister's change in attitude.

"...Ok Yuka, I promise. Sorry." He apologized. He probably had scared everyone. But he'd accomplished what they set out to do, so it wasn't all that bad, was it? He was going to apologize to Naomi though. Even if it had been for a good purpose, he'd aimed low when he mentioned Shinohara like that.

"So she's finally going to tell us what's up." Yoshiki stated. "You two better handle that, cause I do NOT want to go through that again. Girls scare me when they're worked up." His explanation made Satoshi and Yuka laugh for a moment.

"Don't worry, we will." Satoshi nodded.

"Yeah. You always take charge." Yoshiki told him. "No wonder girls like you."

"Ah, well..." Before Satoshi got respond, Ms. Nakashima passed through the living room on her way to the kitchen.

"Naomi's getting dressed and will be down in a minute." She told them. She stood in the doorway for a moment before looking back at them. "Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I don't know how you did it, but you finally managed to bring her back..." She sounded emotional, and quickly rushed into the kitchen. They watched her go.

"Hey..." Yoshiki wondered. "Do you think she overheard us?" He asked. Satoshi felt his heart leap in his chest yet again. None of them had made an effort to keep their voices down, and the door had been opened. Had she heard them talking about Shinohara? Had she heard Naomi talking about _killing_ Shinohara. If so, when all their parents really did come down on them, things were going to be hard to explain.

Part of his mind told him it was worth it if they'd gotten through to Naomi...but he couldn't deny they definitely needed to watch out from now on.

They all turned as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Satoshi felt nervous as he wondered how Naomi would look now. He sat ramrod stiff as she walked into the living room. She was wearing a dress, much like Yuka's, except it was blue instead of pink. She didn't look too comfortable in it though; it hung on her frame and didn't match her face, which was still red and had deep black marks under her eyes. Her mother must've picked it out for her.

_She still looks beautiful. _Satoshi thought. Looks hadn't been on his list of reasons when he realized how much he cared about her... but she was still quite attractive. She stood there awkwardly rubbing her arm till Yuka broke the silence.

"What a pretty dress!" That got Satoshi out of his stupor.

"I-it looks very nice on you." He stammered, still sitting upright. Across the room, Yoshiki snorted. Naomi seemed embarrassed and looked away. "Hey, Naomi." Satoshi stood up and she looked back to him. "I- I'm sorry I spoke to you like that earlier." She seemed surprised.

"No! No!" She said quickly. "I... was an idiot for acting like that. You both were right." She addressed him and Yoshiki. "I always get too worked up..."

"You can say that again." Yoshiki agreed with his usual grace. Satoshi thought he was being harsh, but Naomi just nodded, embarrassed.

"Do you...still want to talk?" Satoshi asked. Before Naomi could answer though, her mother stuck her head in from the hallway.

_"__After_ she eats something!" After hearing her sound so sad and tired, they all jumped at the severity in her voice. That wasn't a suggestion; it was an order. "She's been starving herself for days!" As if to confirm that fact, Naomi's stomach growled loud enough for them all to here. She looked absolutely mortified.

"I'm sorry, but..."

"No, we understand." Satoshi said quickly. "We'll wait."

"I made food for everyone." Ms. Nakashima offered in a much more pleasant voice. "Please, I'd feel like a poor host if you all refused." Grateful for the offer, all four of them headed into the kitchen. True to her word, Naomi's mother had set out a rather large tray of sandwiches for them to enjoy. Naomi tried to eat slow at first, but once the others made it clear they didn't mind, she started scarfing down as many as she could in a very un-lady like way. But even her mother didn't care.

Actually, she looked quite relieved to see her daughter eating with gusto. It wasn't surprising, Satoshi guessed. She would've been seeing Naomi like this for weeks day after day without hope in sight. But Satoshi still only ate with half a mind; there was still work to do on the matter. Naomi was acting calm again and he was glad to see it...but it still wasn't the old her.

He was relieved when everyone had had their fill and stood up. Ms. Nakashima seemed disappointed to see her daughter disappear so soon, but allowed it. She knew this was something she had no part in. For obvious reasons, they all headed back to Naomi's room to hold the discussion. Satoshi was still nervous about what they may hear.

"Uh..." Naomi stopped when they got back to her door. "Can you wait here for a moment?" She asked before slipping into her room. She came back a few minutes later, now wearing much more comfortable looking sweatpants and a sweat shirt. "Come in." She offered. In those few minutes, she'd put the bulletin board back in place and had fixed her disarrayed bed as well.

She closed the door behind them and everyone chose a spot. Naomi sat back down on her bed, Yoshiki seated himself in the desk chair, and Satoshi and Yuka stood against the wall opposite of Naomi. The roaring of wind outside was the only sound in the room for close to a minute while Naomi awkwardly shifted back and forth, unable to start. The others weren't sure how to start the conversation either, even though communication was one of the things Satoshi had hoped to revive by doing this.

"Oh, right." Satoshi realized something and held out the box. "We forgot to give these out." He picked the two select ones out and handed one to Yoshiki and slipped one on himself. He handed Yuka one of the pure silver ones, and then handed another over to Naomi. She held it in her open palm and stared at it for a moment before putting it on.

"Last one is for Shinozaki, when she wakes up." Yoshiki explained.

"Shinozaki..." Naomi said slowly and shook her head. "Where is she?" She asked. Her friends stared at her. Had she really been that disconnected with the world?

"She's... in the hospital." Yoshiki hesitated to say it. Satoshi watched Naomi nervously for her response. Something, realization, flashed in Naomi's eyes and they started to water.

"Naomi!" Satoshi didn't want to see her cry again. "Please, just talk to us about it."

"Yeah, tell us what happened." Yoshiki leaned forward. "Keeping it hidden isn't doing you any favors." Naomi abruptly stopped and clenched her fists on her bed to steady herself.

"The Class Rep, she..." Naomi had to stop and keep herself composed. "She was hoping to find out more about...that place..." She kept pausing between words. "She found out... Sachiko and her mother lived around here...and thought..." She shuddered. "we might find clues on how to bring them back if we went and looked." A sob did come out then, but only one.

"Sachiko..." Satoshi felt himself shudder too, and Yuka nervously clang to his side. Even though they'd put her to rest, the memories of the seven year old and her deeds when she still ruled that school continued to haunt them.

"Wait, just the two of you?" Yoshiki demanded. Naomi nodded guiltily. "What the hell?!" He jumped up, making her flinch.

"Yoshiki!" Satoshi tried to calm down his friend. "Don't get mad at her! I'm sure Shinozaki had a reason for not telling us..." Although he secretly agreed with Yoshiki. Why would the class rep hide that from them? Hadn't she said they needed to stick together? "Naomi, please, go ahead." Yoshiki reluctantly sat back down and after a moment to calm herself, Naomi went on.

The rest of them only understood about half of what Naomi told them after that. They'd never really been familiar with the occult or sorcery despite how often Shinozaki had gone on about it, and every other word Naomi said after that involved it. But they understood enough to piece together what had happened, and it wasn't a good picture.

Shinozaki had theorized, since traces of Naho's work remained in the world even after she'd died, there was a way reverse what had happened or at least make everyone remember the lost. She talked about the Shinozaki estate, and how it had only appeared to them after they searched like some sort of ghost house. After that, they were much to stunned and frightened to respond to what she was saying.

Slowly, through dozens of pauses to compose herself, she hold them everything. Exploring the estate, discovering Shinozaki and Sachiko actually hailed from the same lineage, the hidden room. Then came the part about the Book of Shadows and how'd they'd attempted to ritual. Naomi was barely keeping herself together at that point. Then she told them about the ritual, Suzumoto, and what had resulted from it.

"And then those runes...the saw blades... Shinozaki..." She couldn't finish the sentence. "I'm sorry!" She broke down again before she could finish.. "I just wanted to see them again!" She slipped off her bed and landed on the floor, still sobbing uncontrollably.

"Naomi!"

"Damn!" Satoshi and Yoshiki quickly picked her back up. But after they helped her back up to her bed she fell over and curled into a ball.

"Seiko...Seiko!" She moaned, completely oblivious to her friends now. For the moment, they thought best not to disturb her.

"No wonder she was worse afterwards..." Satoshi realized. "It looked like she'd have a real chance to get Shinohara back and it failed." To think Naomi had gone through all of that for her friend... _Bestfriend? Or something else?_

"This..." Yoshiki gritted his teeth. "What Shinozaki tried to do..." He flopped into the desk chair holding his head, unable to comprehend what he'd been told. Satoshi was just as lost. Black magic? The Book of Shadows? All of it seemed too far out of his comprehension. And the horror he felt. Suzumoto... And the Book trying to kill Shinozaki...Satoshi felt weak on his feet and had to slump down against the wall, where he finally realized for the first time Yuka had apparently fled the room some point previously.

What had they do to deserve this? The weight of everything combined seemed to be crushing his psyche. They were just teenagers, not even out of school. How were they supposed to respond to this? How could they go on knowing all these horrible things? Why? How?

It probably would've been a terrible sight to Ms. Nakashima if she'd walked in just then: her daughter sobbing on her bed and her two friends dazed and ignoring her.

Surprisingly, it was Naomi that recovered first. "Satoshi, Kishinuma." Her voice got the others out of their confusion. "...Thank you... for listening." She started. "I should've talked her out of it, but I didn't. So... I thought it was my fault."

"No, it was Shinozaki's mistake." Yoshiki shook his head like he couldn't believe he was saying it.

"I just miss everyone so much..." She sniffed.

"So do we." Satoshi told her. "But we have to keep living for their sake. And each other."

"Yeah." Yoshiki agreed. "The way I see it, as long as we remember them, they still exist. That's the most we can do for them."

"...I didn't think that was enough." Naomi admitted. "But after what happened... I think you're right. The Class Rep..."

"Hey, we're putting something together for her too." Yoshiki told her. "Going to visit her in the hospital when she's hopefully awake for Christmas. You should come along too."

"...Ok." Naomi nodded, looking much more positive. "Where's Yuka?" She wondered. Satoshi explained she left because she had been too terrified to listen. "Oh..." Naomi looked guilty. Then she risked a different question. "Do you guys think things will ever be normal between the five of us again?" It was clear from her tone she'd been wondering that for a long time, and she looked at them anxiously for an answer.

They both had a hard time answering. They'd all seen the worst of each other in Heavenly Host, so their perceptions were permanently tarnished. Likewise, nothing could take away the adaptive calm they'd developed whenever they saw a corpse. The exposure to death, murder, and loss had irreversibly changed their outlook of the world.

"I think so." Satoshi still said, and they both looked at him. "We'll have to talk to Shinozaki about this and we may actually have to look into it... But I think...that normal is that we stay friends, that we stay happy around each other, and we keep helping each other. As long as we do that, I think things will be back to normal no matter what happened before or what happens in the future." His reasoning made Naomi smile, which in turn made Yoshiki snort.

"He came up with all this, you know?" Yoshiki told her. "He didn't like how things were becoming between us all, so he hatched a scheme to get us all together and talk. Doing something for your birthday was the first step."

"Yeah. I thought doing something normally happy like a birthday would be a good start." Satoshi awkwardly stared at his feet. "Naomi, I'm sorry I didn't remember Shinohara's birthday. If I had-"

"No." Naomi cut him off. "That was me over-reacting again... I know Seiko wouldn't want me to miss my birthday. She always liked days like that."

"Yeah." Yoshiki agreed, "Shinohara made a big racket last year, remember?" He laughed. Satoshi and Naomi both blushed when they realized what Yoshiki meant. Last year, Seiko had gotten Naomi three different gifts. One of them she'd opened and had pulled out, much to her and her friend's horrid embarrassment and Seiko's hyena-like laughter, something particularly pink and lacy before throwing it across the room in a panic. It was embarrassing, but for that moment none of them remembered Heavenly Host, their fractured friendship, or their imminent looking future. After a moment, they laughed a little too.

"You mean like that, don't you?" Naomi asked. "Keeping them alive through our thoughts." Satoshi nodded. "I- I think I can do that." She said determinedly.

"Naomi... I can't tell you how glad I am to see you acting better." Satoshi blushed after his said it, and Naomi did the same thing. There was a silent moment where Yoshiki looked back and forth between the two and shook his head when nothing happened. As it got more unbearable, Naomi spoke up on a different subject.

"Mom told me she made a cake if I still wanted to celebrate my birthday." Naomi revealed. "I've already wasted a lot of it, but I want to do what I can with the day that's left. And...I'd like it if you guys would spend the rest of it with me too."

"Of course." They both answered.

They found Yuka just outside in the hallway, sitting against the wall and rocking back and forth his her hands pressed firmly over her ears. She hadn't wanted to hear things to their conclusion, and Satoshi agreed she didn't need too.

"Sorry." Naomi apologized.

"You're...okay? Right?" Yuka asked.

"Yeah." Naomi nodded. "Since I got all of you." Yuka's eyes brightened and she laughed. "We're going downstairs for cake, you coming?"

"Yes!" Yuka sounded excited. Up till this point, it hadn't really felt like a birthday party so much as an intervention. But now, all four of them were feeling a little more celebratory. You didn't turn 17 just every day, after all. It wasn't a dominant feeling, but it was there to give them a small boost.

They all headed downstairs after that. Ms. Nakashima seemed to be able to read the air and hesitated at first when she realized the mood amongst the four teenagers, but she didn't ask any questions and seemed thrilled when Naomi asked about the cake, although slightly annoyed her daughter had changed out of the dress.

"Here." She set the cake down on the table. "Please, enjoy yourselves."

In spite of how colorful the cake was, how tasty it was, and how enthusiastic Ms. Nakashima was, a cloud seemed to persist in each of their minds. All of them ate at a slow pace and seemed to focusing unusually hard on keeping their hands moving. When they all looked up at each other, they just saw expressions of misery on each other's faces.

Things wouldn't be normal for a while. With this whole business Shinozaki had discovered, it was very likely the next few years for all of them would be unnatural. But they were all friends, and they'd stick together and help each other throughout whatever occurred, no matter how horrible it would. As if to reinforce this, the friendship rings on each of their fingers seem to gleam brightly under the kitchen light. The same thought seemed to occur to them all at once, because the grimaces were replaced by weary smiles as they all looked at each other. There were still some bright spots to look forward to.

And then the power suddenly went out, plunging the entire house into pitch black darkness.


	9. December 14th III

XX A/N XX

I'm amazed. I checked the stats right before I uploaded this chapter and realized this story had passed 1,000 views before I even posted the last chapter. So I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for reading this. I've never had a story get this popular this quick.

This wasn't really too long, but I separated it from the previous chapters cause of how the tones clashed.

X December 14th X

"I was hoping this wouldn't happen." Ms. Nakashima sighed as she lit another candle and set it on the kitchen table. She's set a few candles and lanterns around to house to shed some light after it was clear the power wasn't coming back on. The power and cell service in the area seemed to have been knocked out completely.

It had been a unwelcomed surprise to Ms. Nakashima, but the to Kisaragi survivors it had been a even bigger shock. Surprises were something they no longer liked. The darkness was also something they had developed a phobia off. So when those two combined, it wasn't very surprising that that all screamed. It was a little bit of pandemonium after that.

Yuka had started crying and calling out for her brother, who in turn had fallen out of his seat and sat frozen in the dark. Naomi had likewise hit the floor and was whimpering and moaning in a fit of shock, which only made her mother panic and try and find her. In the chaos, Yoshiki had apparently jabbed himself with a fork hard enough to draw blood.

It had been a nasty shock for them. And even after Naomi's mother had brought out enough light sources to make the place seem at least negotiable, they'd needed a few minutes to gather their nerves. After Yuka had squeezed the breath out of her brother and Yoshiki had found a bandage for his hand though, they all calmed down and considered how inconvenient such a problem was.

But an even worse one came right behind it.

"Uh, guys?" Yoshiki was trying to look out the front window, which was mostly fogged over and let little light into the room. "I think we have a problem." Satoshi got up and went to look for himself. Outside was completely coated in snow. It was blowing a lot harder and had become a meter high now. Satoshi was stunned; they'd only been here an hour. Had the weather gotten worse that quickly?

"Big Brother?" Yuka sounded worried. "How are we going to get home?" Satoshi was wondering that himself. The weather had been bad before, but this weather looked entirely unpassable.

"I guess we'll have to hope it calms down." Satoshi answered, not really believing it would. He hadn't expected it to get any worse, truthfully. Getting here had been difficult. If the weather had been worse, it would've been impossible. That cut both ways, as they were now finding out.

"And if it doesn't?" Yuka asked.

"I guess we just try anyway." Yoshiki shrugged.

"Absolutely not." Ms. Nakashima sounded stern. "The weather before was entirely too bad for you to come through, even though I am still grateful. But right now it's too dangerous to go out there. You'll have to stay here till it stops." Naomi had looked worried when Yoshiki spoke, but looked relieved when her mother spoke.

"But...what if it doesn't stop soon?" Yuka asked fearfully.

"Then I suppose you all will have to spend the night." Naomi gasped at her mothers suggestion, and all four friends looked at each other.

None of them really wanted to accept that. Satoshi knew his mother was expecting him and Yuka to be home soon. If they didn't show up, both their parents would be worried. And if the weather calmed down the in the morning, school would still be open, in which case they'd all end up late. But worry as they may, the weather looked completely impassable. The whole house seemed to groan as the wind pushed against it, and would certainly be worse to a mere human being. Piled snow could be seen in front of the windows, which had to mean there was a ton blocking the walkways and sidewalks.

It looked like they were stuck here till the storm finally cleared, however long it took.

After night fell, Satoshi reflected that it had been quite a day. If he'd been asked when it began, he never would've imagined he would be where he was right now. When the subject of sleeping spots had come up, Naomi had immediately offered to let them stay in her room. And even though that raised some concern in both Satoshi and Yoshiki's minds, it had been insisted to the point they couldn't refuse.

There was a point to it, they supposed. Without a heater, the house got cold extremely quickly, forcing them to put on their jackets indoors. The temperature in every room had dropped to around -3 degrees Celsius, about as cold as outside. If they all stayed in a room together, especially a small one like Naomi's bedroom, it would warm up comfortably eventually.

Around 7 that night, the three of them finally accepted they'd have to stay the night here. Naomi and her mother quickly prepared sleeping arrangements for their guests and had gathered enough spare pillows and blankets for them to use. About an hour after that, they all decided to turn in for the night. Without power and the privacy for further discussion, Satoshi and the others had had very little to do those few hours and likely wouldn't soon.

Naomi obviously got to sleep in her bed, although with an extra comforter. With a blanket on the floor for insulation and another on top, Yoshiki had simply put his hoody back on and drifted off in front of the bedroom door. Satoshi and Yuka had combined what had been given and were sleeping back to back in the middle of the room with two blankets beneath them and two on top of them.

At least, Satoshi was supposed to be sleeping. Yuka was tired and she was warm, so she had no trouble. Satoshi was having a harder time despite being tired. It might have just been the unfamiliar setting and the howling wind outside. Or maybe he was still trying to process what he'd learned today. When the reality of that place had been made clear to them, they hadn't believed something so supernaturally evil could exist. Now it was relatively small next to the rest of the world that had seemingly opened up in front of them.

He was still determined to stick with his friends...But everything else scared the absolute hell out of him. It always had. Was there ever going to be a end? Some time when they could finally live with without guilt or remorse? With such things on his mind, he was much too stressed to sleep. He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.

"Satoshi?" Naomi's voice drifted through the darkness, making him jump. He'd thought he was the only one still awake.

"Y-yeah?" Satoshi whispered back, conscious not to wake the others. The bed creaked as Naomi shifted. Her pillows and her head had been on the end near the window. Arranged in the center of the room, Satoshi found himself facing the opposite end of the bed. Naomi switched to the other side so that they ended up facing each other, although they could only faintly see each other in the dark.

"Can't sleep?" She guessed.

"Yeah...You too?" Satoshi felt a prickle of discomfort when he realized it was just the two of them talking, alone.

"Mhm." She confirmed. "I sleep so much during the day already... I'm not really tired." She admitted, embarrassed.

"Oh. That makes sense." Satoshi nodded, wondering why she was talking to him.

"What about you? Why are you still up?" She wondered. Satoshi would've been going against his own principles if he didn't answer truthfully, so he told her about his doubts.

"...I guess I'm just worried." Satoshi confided. "I hoped we'd never have to deal with anything like Heavenly Host again...but it sounds like we'll have to based on what Shinozaki found. I...don't ever want to mess with...that kind of stuff after what happened.

"I'm scared too." Naomi admitted. "It's really awful stuff to learn about. But it's like you said: if we stick together, it doesn't matter. You meant that, right?" He asked.

"I did." Satoshi tried to sound serious. "The most valuable thing to all of us right now should be each other. It got us out of that place, it'll get us through anything else." They could only see vague outlines of each other in the dark, but Satoshi could've swore Naomi was smiling. Just a feeling he got.

"...You're a good person, Satoshi. We're all lucky to have you as a friend." Her comment made him blush. "Thank you for caring enough about me to do this." Satoshi's face was red enough at that point it was probably glowing in the dark room, so he tried to hide under the cover.

"A-anything for a friend." He stuttered. "And...Shinohara did ask." He was trying to be modest.

"Pushover." She teased, and Satoshi felt himself smile. That was the closest he'd seen her to the old Naomi- the one that had always affectionately teased him- since they returned. "But Satoshi? Really, thank you." She sounded earnest. "I don't think things would've gone good for me if I'd stayed like that."

"That's what I was worried about. I only did this because I couldn't stand to see how you were living after...what happened. How everyone was living, I mean." He quickly corrected. "Uh..." He went silent in embarrassment when she laughed. But secretly, he was enjoying himself. Everything seemed so friendly and carefree now... _I hope it lasts. _

"I always get worked up and lash out at everyone around me..." Naomi confessed. "I should've realized sooner you guys were worried."

"You came around in the end. That's what matters." Satoshi tried to cheer her up. "It's something we can help you work on."

"And I'll be there for you guys too. And the Class Rep. We'll all stick together just like you said." She added.

"Yeah." It was at that point Satoshi truly felt like he'd accomplished what he set out to do. There was still a lot to do, but it looked so much more doable from here. They'd started, and as long as they kept the current mindset, they'd get to where they wanted soon.

But in finally feeling relieved, Satoshi also suddenly felt the weariness worry had held off. He yawned loudly and felt his eyes droop. Naomi noticed and started to move back to the other end of her bed. But she didn't sound angry when she spoke. "Goodnight Satoshi. We can talk again in the morning."

"Alright. Goodnight, Naomi." He yawned again. There would be a lot to talk about; now they had to figure out what to do about Shinozaki. Yoshiki would probably take charge of that conversation. They still had to discuss how much Naomi had revealed to her mother as well, and how to deal with their parents now that they knew something was up.

And lastly Satoshi's tired mind registered there was something else- something more personal- he had to talk to her about...But he drifted off into sleep before he could remember what it was.


	10. December 15th

X December 15th X

There was no small amount of confusion when everyone woke up, as no one immediately remembered the previous day's events. "My first sleepover with all my friends..." Naomi seemed embarrassed when she remembered. The memories- good and bad- came back to them after that, but so did a feeling of accomplishment and relief. There was a slight sense of urgency afterwards.

"What time is it?" Yoshiki rubbed his eyes. Naomi reached across her desk for a watch.

"10:21 in the morning." She told them. Yuka squealed and clung to Satoshi.

"B-big Brother! Mom's going to be mad at us!" She said fearfully. They'd been gone close to twenty hours by then, and Mrs. Mochida was very strict about their curfew.

"Don't worry, Yuka." Satoshi patted her head. "I'll say it was all my fault."

"Man, school better be closed today." Yoshiki stood and stretched.

"Oh, it stopped snowing? Oh..." Naomi was looking out her window, sounding awed. "Come look at this." She motioned for the others and pulled open the curtains so they could come see.

"Wow. Big Brother, look! It's so pretty!" Yuka pressed her face against the glass. Both Satoshi and Yoshiki made awed sounds. The weather forecast may have been right about snow storms yesterday, but they were wrong about it continuing afterwards. It looked absolutely beautiful outside. The sun was out in the clear sky, and the snow below, high but flat and undisturbed, seem to shine under the rays from above.

"Well, at least we can finally get home." Satoshi pointed out.

"Yeah. You guys probably should get going as soon as you can.." Naomi smiled. "I'll be fine now."

"We'll continue later, alright?" Satoshi offered.

"Ok." Naomi nodded. "I looked forward to it." After that, it was a rushed morning. Ms. Nakashima had been up for a few hours already, but hadn't woke them because she didn't want to disrupt how peaceful they all looked. The power was still out, so she couldn't offer them much in terms of breakfast. They could all eat when they got home anyway. Thankfully, she told them she'd heard from their neighbors that school was cancelled due to the power being out there as well, and that the weather was much warmer today.

So only twenty minutes after waking up, Satoshi, Yuka, and Yoshiki were preparing to leave. Fortunately, they didn't have to pile on all the cold weather gear they'd brought, just carry what they didn't need. Satoshi, lacking his mother's forcefulness, had to bribe Yuka with promises of sweets in the future to make her put on at least part of the clothes she'd been stuffed into. After that, with the rest in hand, they got ready to leave.

"Thank you all for coming." Ms. Nakashima bid them farewell. "Really, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you all." All of them, especially Naomi, were embarrassed at her gushes.

"Thanks for doing this guys." Naomi looked like she wanted to say so much more, but she clearly couldn't with her mother there. "I hope we get to spend a lot of time together now."

"Count on it." Yoshiki nodded.

"Yeah! We can come visit again!" Yuka suggested. "Or you can come visit us!"

"And we'll always see each other in school." Satoshi reminded her. Naomi smiled and nodded.

"That's enough. You all have the rest of your lives to talk. I bet your parents are worried, so you all better get going." Ms. Nakashima suggested.

"Bye." Naomi waved.

"We'll see you soon, Naomi."

"Bye!"

"See you around." They turned and headed out after that. The snow outside was easily a meter high. That didn't stop Yuka from shouting and jumping into it and needing help to get back up. They'd have to push through to get to their destinations, but it was manageable now.

"Mission accomplished?" Yoshiki asked.

"Yeah." Satoshi nodded. "We did everything we set out to, didn't we?" They'd gotten Naomi to finally open up to them. They'd found out what happened to her and Shinozaki. They'd agreed to help her with the rest of her issues. And they'd all agreed to get together and do something for Shinozaki. That was all they'd hoped for, and they'd accomplished it. Naomi had been the worst casualty of Heavenly Host, and they'd overcome it, which meant they could overcome everything else.

The rest of this December might just turn out alright.

"Wait a minute!" Yoshiki shouted, causing Satoshi and Yuka to pause. "Come here!" He grabbed the back of Satoshi's coat and started pulling him forcefully back towards the house.

"Wha?! Hey!" Satoshi stumbled as Yoshiki dragged him back onto the porch. "What?" Yoshiki stopped and let go of Satoshi so he could hammer on the door a few times. After a moment, it was opened by a very confused looking Naomi.

"Oh, did you guys forget something?" She asked. "Hey?!" Yoshiki grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the porch.

"Yeah, Satoshi did." Yoshiki pointed at him as he set the two up to face each other.

"Huh?" Naomi looked at him expectantly.

"I did?" Satoshi wondered.

"Yeah, you did." Yoshiki told him as he backed up to give the two space. As a parting gesture, he held up fingers on both his hands: two of his right hand, four on his left. Satoshi was still confused. He didn't think he'd forgotten anything, so what did Yoshiki mean? Two and four? Two four. Twenty four.

The 24th!

"Gah!" The realization hit Satoshi like a ton of bricks: _He still had to ask her out, and here was a chance! _He was frozen in place, beads of sweat already forming on his forehead.

"Satoshi?" Naomi hadn't noticed Yoshiki's gesturing. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Satoshi gulped and tried to think of something to say. Naomi had crossed her arms across her chest and seemed bothered by the cold, so Satoshi didn't want to keep her outside for long.

"Uh." It was the first thing to a coherent sound he made. He was at a loss. He'd completely forgotten. He had nothing planned, at all. And now Yoshiki had thrown him right in front of her? He might as well thrown him under a bus. How could he ask her here and now? She was still looking at him curious.

_I can do this._ He tried to tell himself. Getting dropped into surprising situations and having to react was something he was use to, although this was obviously the most terrifying one yet. And he'd talked to Naomi about difficult subjects just yesterday. How hard could this be?

"Uh...Satoshi? What's with your face?" Naomi asked. Satoshi broke down into sputtering after that till a snowball, point of origin unknown, hit him in the side of the head. It cooled him off and helped him focus something he needed since by then Naomi was looking more then a little confused.

_Just say it._ He told himself. _Just open your mouth and start talking. _And he did.

"Naomi, Iwaswondering, if you're feeling better, I mean...if youwanted t-to goouton the 24th with me?" He stuttered and said some of the words too fast, but he said it. He waited for a response, his hands trembling in his pocket and his legs trembling beneath him. The moment of truth...

Naomi still looked confused at first till she realized just what he'd said. When she did, her eyes widened and her face turned a dark shade of red very quickly and she stumbled back a step. "Y-you mean like a date?" She stuttered. Satoshi nodded nervously, struggling to keep upright against a sudden wave of light headedness.

"O-oh." She said, and Satoshi felt a stab of panic then. Was she going to say no? "Umm...O-ok then." She stuttered. "I'd love too!" She looked up and then at her feet again.

"Th-thank you." Satoshi was really running on any sensible thought right then, just knee-jerk reactions. But he did realize Naomi really did look like she was going to pass out then and there, so he considered wrapping it up. "We can talk... about the details... l-later." Satoshi stuttered. Naomi nodded excitedly.

"Ok." She was still blushing furiously. "We'll talk about itlater." She nervously moved back and forth on her feet. "Well...bye Satoshi!" Clearly too flustered to stay there a moment longer, she rushed back inside and closed the door behind her. Satoshi just stood there, his mind processing what had just occurred. When it did, the corners of his lips moved.

A big grin was plastered on his face as he walked away from the porch and towards the gate. He'd done it! She said yes! He could hardly believe it, but it was happening. This had to be the best day of his life!

"Well, what'd she say?" Yoshiki asked him once he joined them out on the street. "She said yes?" He guessed from the smile on Satoshi's face, though the brunette still didn't say anything. "Oh, congratulations!" They exchanged a high five.

"Good job!" Yuka said excitedly, then turned serious. "Don't mess it up! Or Naomi might not come visit us!" Satoshi had to laugh at her priorities.

"Thanks, Yuka."

"Well, let's head back home." Yoshiki cut in. "You probably got a lot to prepare for." Satoshi nodded and they headed out. He did have a lot to plan and organize: What to wear, when to pick her up, a schedule for the night, back up plans incase something happened. And probably a few other things he was forgetting at that moment. But he was actually planning for a date with Naomi!

As they were walking, something else occurred to him to ask.

"Did one of you throw a snow ball?" Satoshi asked his two companions. Both of them averted their gaze, Yoshiki whistling nonchalantly and Yuka was bent over clearly trying to hold a fit of giggles. "You know what?" Satoshi smiled. "Never mind."

He had a date. Next to that, nothing else really mattered.

XX A/N XX

Satoshi really is dense when it comes to women; he couldn't realize there were three chasing after him even with blinking neon signs. Fortunately, he has a best friend/ wingman to back him up.


	11. December 17th

X December 17th X

It was a few days before any of them saw each other again. The storm truly had wrecked the city and it took officials a while to clean everything up. Satoshi and Yuka had spent them at home. Their parents hadn't minded their overnight absence...too much. They'd just wanted to know if it was worth it. Satoshi had told them it had been and that their friend was fine.

And then Yuka had taken it upon herself to announce Satoshi had said friend as a date for the 24th. Then she'd ran away, giggling and laughing and leaving Satoshi standing there embarrassed. Their parents had found it quite amusing, but otherwise didn't really comment on it too much. For that, Satoshi was glad.

He spent those days, or at least the times Yuka wasn't bored and bothering him, thinking ahead for the date. He had completely missed any opportunity for a restaurant or something similar. But they could always go walking around the city. The lights really were amazing this time of year, especially by the waterfront. And it would give them a chance to talk, something very much needed.

Attire wasn't too much of an issue. It'd be cold, so he'd he wearing a jacket or coat over anything else. Still, on the off chance they did manage to find something indoors, he'd have to wear a dress shirt. But other then that, a pair of jeans and sneakers would be fine. The other details, he'd have to work out with Naomi next time he saw her.

That day happened to be the 17th, a few days after her birthday and exactly a week till the 24th. The electrical grid had finally been patched up and the roads and sidewalks cleared. So the city quickly resume its normal hustle and bustle, and that included school. So that morning Satoshi and Yuka both got up and made the walk to school alongside dozens of equally let down students.

"Big Brother?" Yuka asked as they walked. "Can you ask Naomi to wait with you?" She asked. "I want to see her again." Kisaragi Academy held both a middle school and a high school, but the student bodies were separated and were dismissed at different times of the day, hence why none of Satoshi's friends had ever met Yuka before hand.

"I'll ask her." Satoshi promised, trying to hide his anxiousness. Even after her birthday, a small amount of doubt existed in his mind because there clearly was a lot to do still. But Naomi had said she was eager to see them again, so surely she would make sure to come to school today? He hoped so at least. Yuka and him separated at the gate and headed to their respective classes.

When he walked into 2-9, the first thing he did was scan around. Yoshiki was absent that day again, but that wasn't anything new. Satoshi's gaze drifted towards a different part of the room and he sighed in relief when he saw Naomi there at her desk. Not only that, but she didn't look dead on her feet or detached from everything around her. Rather, she just looked nervous due to the fact there were no familiar faces nearby.

"Morning." Satoshi walked over and greeted her. Her eyes brightened when she saw him.

"Satoshi...Good morning." It wasn't the greeting the old Naomi would've used, but she'd greeted him. That was good enough for him. "I'm not use to being the first one here." She admitted.

"Yoshiki skips class a lot to visit the Class Rep." Satoshi explained. They had a few minutes to talk before lessons began. "He might fail the year if it keeps up...but I haven't been able to convince him not too."

"Shinozaki is going to kill him when she wakes up." Naomi laughed, although there was an obvious nervousness to it.

"Yeah..." Satoshi tried not to let it ruin the mood. "That'll definitely be the first she does... Or ask for all the assignments she missed."

"I bet." Naomi nodded. The friendly exchange was interrupted by a bell signaling the start of lessons. Everyone rushed to their seats, and the two had to cut their conversation short. But it was a good start to the day for both of them, so they didn't mind. They didn't get another chance to speak till lunch break, during which both relocated to a corner of the room for privacy.

"Have you been doing okay?" Satoshi asked first, worry in his voice.

"Yeah." Naomi nodded, looking embarrassed. "My mothers really happy to see me back to normal... I feel terrible for stressing her out so much these past few weeks..." She looked guilty. "She was worried about me..."

"She cares about you, Naomi."

"I know... It's just...she doesn't know and she kept saying..." Naomi trailed off, unable to continue. "She got me a late birthday present." Naomi changed the subject. "A kitten." She smiled. "It's really cute."

"That's great." Satoshi commented. He'd heard of pets helping people recover from incidents, so maybe it was exactly what Naomi needed.

"You should all come see it sometime." Naomi offered. "It really likes people."

"I'd like too." Satoshi nodded. "Yuka too." Naomi smiled and then averted her gaze outside for a short while before turning back to Satoshi.

"Satoshi, I was wondering if...the three of two would come over again on the 22nd." She asked quietly and looked at him pleadingly for an answer. The 22nd? That was Shinohara's birthday...

"Shinohara, huh?" Satoshi asked cautiously. Of all the subjects between the group of friends, that had to be the most sensitive.

"Yeah." Naomi admitted, looking around first. Their classmates had ridiculed her, all of them actually, for insisting on the existence of the others. It had eventually forced them into a reluctant silence. Even now they weren't comfortable bringing them up just in case someone overheard. "I don't think it's right to ignore the day."

"No, I understand." Satoshi nodded. "I'll come, though I'm not sure about the others." He remembered his conversation with Yuka on the way to school. "You can ask Yuka this afternoon though. She wanted me to ask you to wait because she wants to see you again."

"Oh." Naomi glanced out the window towards the building that housed the middle school. "Ok then, I'll stay for a bit. You really have a nice sister, Satoshi."

"She's annoying sometimes," Satoshi chuckled. "But she's a really good girl."

"Yeah. I guess I'll call Kishinuma and ask him once the cell phone service restores itself." Naomi decided. "But thanks for agreeing to come... I know she never really made you guys comfortable." That was an understatement. Shinohara had always made it her goal to make a situation awkward for her own amusement, often at the expense of those around her. But she never went too far, and it always made the school day a little more bearable.

"Don't mention it." Satoshi shook his head and tried to think of something else to say. He considered the option of continuing to talk about Shinohara...but decided against it. As sensitive as it was to Naomi, he didn't want to risk making her upset in a public place. His next topic of choice was manageable, but embarrassing.

"Naomi," Satoshi face had turned a bright shade of red before he even opened his mouth. "About what I asked you..."

"Huh? Oh!" Her face went bright red when she remembered. "Our date!" She smiled nervously. Hearing her say it so happily made Satoshi feel lightheaded again, like he was in a dream.

"Y-yeah." Satoshi stuttered. "I-I was wondering what time I could pick you up?" It would be a school day the day after, so obviously they couldn't be out too late. But they'd have to be in school on the 24th as well, which meant it would be the evening before they could even start. "Would six be an ok time?" He offered.

"Ok!" She agreed excitedly.

"O-ok." Satoshi felt better now that that was settled. "I'll pick you up a six then."

"I can't wait!" She beamed, still bright red. They were both eternally grateful to the bell that rang just then, because it meant they didn't have to face each other any longer. Planning all this stuff ahead was necessary, but that meant they'd both spend the next week anxiously because they knew what would happen.

The next few days were going to be a bit awkward with that hanging over them.

Fortunately, the embarrassment had faded between them by the time the school day ended. They managed to make small talk about the day as they left and as they stood by the school gates, and the topic eventually came to Naomi's presence in school the past few weeks.

"I really need to pull my grades up..." Naomi sighed. "I barely listened to half of what was being said before even when I showed up.

"I took a lot of notes, you can borrow them if you'd like." Satoshi offered. He'd done the same for Yoshiki; he didn't want any of his friends to fail the year because then they ran the risk of being separated during their senior year.

"Thanks..." She smiled.

"Big Brother!" Like usual, Yuka appeared with a surprise hug. Today, she finished it quickly though. "Naomi!" She got the same treatment.

"Now you see what I go through every day." Naomi laughed when Satoshi said it.

"Hey, nice to see you." Naomi greeted. "I'm feeling a lot better thanks to you guys." Yuka seemed overjoyed at the praise. They were all heading in the same direction for a while anyway, so they walked home together, which gave the girls time to talk about an amazingly wide range of topics.

_Girls are girls._ Satoshi thought. Regardless of age or how long they knew each, they could get along well. The conversation soon turned to the important issues though.

"Yuka?" Naomi asked. "I'm planning on doing something on the 22nd for...Seiko." Naomi managed to say it without breaking down. "Your brother already agreed to come, and I know you didn't know her that well... but I'd be grateful if you-"

"Okay!" Yuka agreed before she'd even finished. Naomi was surprised for a moment, then smiled.

"Thank you, Yuka. I wish your brother would've introduced you to us sooner." Yuka giggled at the complement.

"You know." Satoshi said thoughtfully, "All of us should have a meeting to discuss what we'll do for Shinozaki." He suggested. Yoshiki surely would've reminded them of it, but they only had a week left, so it was better not to wait.

"Right." Naomi was immediately focused on the issue. Yuka yelped.

"I haven't bought her a gift yet!" She realized. "Big Brother, you need to take me shopping!" She ordered, which made both older teenagers laugh.

"I have to get her something too." Naomi confessed. "Although I think she'll already like the friendship ring." She glanced down at her hand. All of three of them were wearing them still, even if they bit into their skin in the cold.

"I already went shopping, since Yoshiki told me what she liked. He already bought her a whole bag full of stuff." Satoshi revealed. "Actually, I think he might've bought a second bagful by now!" Naomi held a hand to her face.

"Wow... Kishinuma always did get her the most stuff for her birthday." Naomi remembered. "You said he's been visiting her in the hospital every day? He must really care about her..."

"Yeah. He'll probably be the one there when she first wakes up." Satoshi nodded. It hadn't been any secret to him that Yoshiki had been interested in Shinozaki, but none of the others ever seemed to notice.

"He must be disappointed she'll be in the hospital for the 24th." Naomi guessed. Her and Satoshi looked at each other, simultaneously blushed, and looked away. "Well..." She said after a moment. "I can't wait till we go visit. I really do want to apologize to her after...what happened." She looked down.

"Naomi? Don't blame yourself." Satoshi said. "We're glad you were there with her. If you weren't...she might be dead too now." Naomi shivered when she thought about it. Satoshi did too. Losing a friend outside of Heavenly Host was still a very terrifying thought.

"I guess you're right... I hope you guys aren't mad at her either. She really did just want to help each other, even if it caused harm to herself..." Naomi defended.

"I'm not." Satoshi shook his head. Yuka did too, even though she'd only been listening in. "I just wish she'd told us before... We'll have a lot to talk about once she's released."

"Yeah..." Naomi didn't appear to be eager for those conversations.

"But let's just help her get better first." Satoshi said quickly. "Once the five of us are back together, nothing can go wrong, right?"

"Right!" The two of them agreed with him.


	12. December 20th

X December 20th X

It was exactly four days till the 24th, and Satoshi had the conflicting feeling that each day leading up to it was both infinitely long and far too short. The fact that he'd never been on a date before might've had something to do with it. He was nervous, plain and simple. He was worried something would appear at the last minute and wreck the plan, or otherwise he'd screw up during the date itself. Or that anything could go wrong, really.

He wasn't quite alone either; it was clear Naomi was just as much, if not more, nervous. Communication had broken down between the two of them, though not as bad as before. They exchanged greetings and farewells every day still, but any other time they tried to talk to each other it would quickly become an awkward silence during which each of them would steer their red face in a different direction. Instead, they'd downgraded into just glancing at each other and quickly look away when noticed.

Yoshiki had picked up on the exchange the one day he was there to witness it and had taken to the habit of snorting loudly every time it happened, which made the situation more awkward and would draw attention from the rest of the class to the fact. Later that same day during lunch, after Yoshiki had called them to the roof for a quick discussion, he ended up having to sit between them just so they'd pay attention to him rather then each other.

"So, Nakashima, did Satoshi fill you in on what we decided for Shinozaki?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Just that we would be visiting."

"Yeah, that's right." Yoshiki nodded. "Her family wants to be with her on Christmas, so I figured we should go on the 26th. I think she'll be happy if she sees gifts from us when she wakes up."

"Oh, yeah. Satoshi told me you bought her a lot of stuff." Naomi laughed when Yoshiki became flustered. Satoshi laughed too. That, along with the fact they were discussing something important, cured the two awkward teenagers of their nervousness for the time being.

"Hey..." Satoshi ventured. "When Shinozaki does wake up...what are we going to say to her about...what happened?" Yoshiki frowned and scratched the side of his head. Naomi folded her hands in her lap and stared at the ground.

"I'm not even sure if she'll remember." Naomi admitted. "She lost so much blood...she was delirious when we got to the hospital."

"It'd make things a whole lot easier if she forgot everything." Yoshiki commented.

"But if she doesn't, we'll have to say something." Satoshi insisted. "We're not mad at her, are we?" Both his companions shook their heads. Satoshi and Yoshiki felt a little betrayed, true, but they could understand her intentions. What Naomi had gone through was traumatic...but she'd known the risks and agreed to it. Besides, it wasn't worth losing a friend over good intentions. "Right. So we'll have to make sure she knows we understand."

"Yeah." Yoshiki agreed. "And that in the future we're willing to help her more with whatever she finds. What?" He looked back and forth when he realized Satoshi and Naomi had grimaced at the idea.

"I was thinking we could try and convince her to not try stuff like that again." Satoshi admitted. "Researching it would be fine...but actually trying stuff like black magic..."

"It's really dangerous...what if someone actually dies next time?" Naomi asked. Yoshiki shook his head.

"Shinozaki's smart... I think she'd get it right eventually. And what if she blows us off and tries anyway? We gotta be there for her." Neither of his friends could argue against that, so they diverted.

"Let's just focus on getting her to open up to us first." Satoshi suggested. Yoshiki looked like he wanted to argue, but held his tongue.

"Fine." He shrugged. "That'll be the first issue when she wakes up. We agree on the 26th?" He asked.

"Yeah, my parents should be fine with that." Satoshi nodded.

"My mom might need a little convincing, but I think I can be there." Naomi said hopefully.

"Good." Yoshiki nodded and checked his watch. "Anyone got something else they want to say?"

"Kishinuma, about that text I sent you..." Naomi said uncertainly.

"Hmm? Oh, Shinohara's birthday." Yoshiki remembered. "Sure, I'll come."

"T-thank you!" Naomi seemed surprised. "So all of us can just head straight to my house on Monday after school?"

"Yuka and me can do that." Satoshi nodded.

"Might have to talk to my boss first, but I can probably do that." Yoshiki agreed.

"Thanks, both of you." Naomi beamed, still clearly surprised they would agree.

"You want to head back to class?" Satoshi asked when he realized Naomi's face was becoming red.

"Y-yeah." She admitted, standing up. "Are you two coming?"

"In a minute." Yoshiki answered before Satoshi. "We'll catch up."

"Oh...Ok." Naomi said after a moment. "I'll see you guys in class." After she left, Satoshi turned questioningly to Yoshiki.

"Something wrong?" He asked, wondering why he'd said they were both staying.

"You said you were there if I wanted to talk, right?" Yoshiki asked. He seemed to stare at the sky rather then Satoshi.

"O-oh. Yeah, I did." Satoshi remembered he'd said that on this same roof not too long ago. "What's on your mind?" He asked. Yoshiki sighed.

"Shinozaki." He admitted. No surprise there, Satoshi thought.

"What about her?"

"Satoshi, we only met up right before we found Sachiko. I was with Ayumi for a few hours before that." Yoshiki started, still avoiding eye contact. "I learned more about her in those few hours then I have the last few years I've known her. She scares easily. There's no way in hell she'd would've gone in a ghost house unless she was absolutely determined."

"Maybe she's gotten better at handling scares?" Satoshi suggested, unsure of where he was going with this. Yoshiki shook his head.

"I don't believe it. And she's hard headed. You have to realize that too, right?" Satoshi had to reluctantly nod; If Shinozaki set her sight on making something happen, it would happen. "And she was real torn up about it when she learned the charm was the reason. She thinks it was her fault."

"Yoshiki, what are you saying?" Satoshi asked. He recoiled when he friend turned and scowled at him.

"Satoshi, Shionzaki isn't going to let this go even if it almost killed her. She's going to try something again, I just know." Yoshiki insisted. "She might end up getting killed next time unless we're there to help her. And after what I just heard, I'm not sure you are Nakashima will be there." He stared, daring Satoshi to challenge him. His brown haired friend was put off by both the borderline accusation, and the realization that what Yoshiki was saying made sense. He needed a moment and chose his words carefully.

"Yoshiki... I'm not going to lie to you. I don't want to get involved in any of that, because I don't want to risk getting Yuka involved in it or getting hurt. And I think if we put our minds to it we could move on... But Shinozaki is my friend too. I'm not just going to stand by if she does something dangerous. Naomi won't either." Yoshiki looked away.

"Fine...Sorry." He said after a moment.

"No, you're just worried about her. I understand." Satoshi said quickly. "But... I just really want to avoid more trouble."

"Yeah, me too." Yoshiki agreed. "But this won't be the end of it." His words hung there ominously. Satoshi sincerely hoped they could convince her not to try anything dangerous again. He had a lot of people to live for: his parents, Yuka... And now Naomi even. He didn't want to risk any of it. Shinozaki would listen to them, surely?

"So..." Yoshiki seemed to think that wasn't a good note to leave on. "Just four days and you'll finally get to go out with Nakashima. So why are you so scared?" The change of subject proved to distract Satoshi from the previous subject almost immediately.

"I'm not scared!" He retorted, just a little too quickly.

"Oh. Eager then?" Yoshiki grinned. "You managed to reserve a hotel room of something?"

"N-n-nothing like that!" Satoshi stuttered. "I...I'm just hoping it goes alright... There's a lot of bad memories between the two of us...And Naomi is still recovering, so I'm just wondering if we can really act normal for one evening."

"You asked her out and she said yes." Yoshiki pointed out. "You couldn't have done that if you really believed it wouldn't work. Besides, you seem to be acting like a pair of normal idiots in love to me." Satoshi felt hot under his collar. "You'll just screw up if you worry." Yoshiki advised him. "So don't."

"I guess..." Satoshi was still feeling nervous about the whole thing. "Thanks for the advice."

"No problem." Yoshiki waved him off. "Damn." He cursed when the bell signaling the start of next period rang. Both made their way back the classroom 2-9.

As the walked, Satoshi thought about the 24th. There was a lot riding on it, but most importantly was his and Naomi's friendship. He'd yet to actually confess how he felt about her. Asking her out had implications, but it wasn't the same thing as saying it.

He was going to have to tell her on the 24th. It wasn't necessary, but he wanted to admit how strongly he felt about her. What he longed for even more was to know how she felt about him. So he fully intended to confess on the 24th when the opportunity presented itself. How she responded determined whether or not they'd stay friends...or become something else entirely.

And it was the uncertainty of how she'd respond that made him both reluctant and eager for that day to come.

XX A/N XX

We're fast approaching the end of the month, it seems. There will be chapter(s) on most of the days between the 20th and the 31st though, so it is still far from over as far as content goes.

Random trivial fact I found doing research for this story that I found amusing: In Japan, couples will commonly reserve hotel rooms for romantic evenings on the 24th. These reservations are so desired, people will pay 800$ five months in advance for one.

One of my reviewers pointed this out, and I'm sure other people are wondering, but this story won't go through the events of Blood Drive. I'm only including so much reference because its relevant to the time of the setting. I'm not saying I won't continue this timeline if I ever get to play Blood Drive, but the main course of this story will be wrapped up for sure by the 31st.


	13. December 22nd

X December 22nd X

Two days to go. Just thinking about it now was enough to make Satoshi sweat nervously. At this point, Naomi and him were purposely avoiding each other out of sheer embarrassment. Part of him realized how childish it was, but the other part of him remained petrified.

The weather report said it would be nice, fortunately. Satoshi did have his recent allowance in case they found something to do, and he'd already thought of a few dozen spots in the city they could walk around. He'd already picked out a good set of clothes to wear. As far as he could tell, he'd thought of, planned, and prepared for every part of the date.

So why was he still worried the date would fail?

Or was he just nervous? A lot of the date would be spent talking. What would come up? Could he respond without upsetting her? And then there was his confession. He'd been trying to think of exactly how to phrase it, but nothing sounded right in his head. And he couldn't stop wondering how Naomi could respond.

Today was also a cause for worry. As peppy as Shinohara had always been, Satoshi imagined she'd be upset her birthday was causing her friends distress. But it was. It had to be causing Naomi stress because it reminded her so painfully of the fact her friend was gone for good, the fact that had caused her mental state to slip before. And it was causing stress to the other three because they were worried how Naomi would react to the day.

Her response hadn't been too bad so far, actually. Satoshi had made sure to greet her that morning, and she'd replied with the same tone as always. She'd been as attentive as in class- very - as she'd been the past few days. But she'd glanced at the clock a lot more often then usual. At one point, she glanced over to where Satoshi and Yoshiki were sitting to make sure they were both still there. They'd nodded at her and then the clock, which made her seem a lot more relaxed for the rest of class.

The three of them met up by the school gates and waited for Yuka after the day had ended. There wasn't any conversation between the three of them, mainly because they couldn't discuss the subject of the day in front of other students. The only noise was when Yuka showed up and enthusiastically greeted all of them. Satoshi had to marvel again at how she'd managed to come out of Heavenly Host with less damage then the rest of them. He wished the rest of them could have been the same.

The walk to Naomi's house wasn't a very exciting one at first. Naomi still seemed embarrassed that her friends were doing this for her, Yoshiki had no idea what to talk about, and Satoshi was still feeling too awkward to talk. Yuka was the one who broke the silence when she decided to pester Naomi about her new kitten.

"What type is it?" Yuka asked excitedly. She always adored animals, but they were one of the few things that she could never convince their parents to get her.

"An auburn fold." Naomi answered. "Only two months old."

"Ooh." Yuka's eyes shined as she thought of it. "How big is it?"

"I can still hold it with one hand."

"Boy or girl?"

"Girl."

"What did you name it?" Yuka asked.

"I...haven't given it a name yet." Naomi admitted sheepishly. "I'm stilling thinking of one." Trailing behind the two girls, Satoshi and Yoshiki started their own conversation.

"You think this will become a regular thing?" Yoshiki asked. "Doing something on each of their birthdays?"

"Well...It'll be one way of remembering them. I'm just not sure if I can do it every year without eventually going mad." Satoshi admitted. Remembering the others was painful sometimes, so dedicating a whole day to keeping them in though didn't seem appealing. But they couldn't forget them.

"Same." Yoshiki agreed. "I'm surprised Nakashima suggested this in the first place, since Shinohara was the reason she went nuts in the first place."

"Naomi's not going to recover completely till she's over her." Satoshi reminded him. "I guess this is her own way of doing it." Yoshiki nodded thoughtfully. They'd all have to recover in their own way. They'd still help each other regardless if it made them uncomfortable.

"Hey, Satoshi." Yoshiki asked in a low voice while the girls were still caught up in their conversation. "I've been meaning to ask: how serious are you about this thing with Nakashima?"

"W-what do you mean?" Satoshi stuttered, glancing ahead to make sure they weren't overheard.

"I mean is this just something to make her feel better? Or are you looking ahead?" While Yuka and his own mother had teased Satoshi about this subject, Yoshiki was asking a serious man-to-man question. That didn't make Satoshi any less embarrassed to answer.

"Not really..." Satoshi admitted. "I'm still just wanting Shinozaki to wake up and for all of us to patch things up..." He truthfully hadn't given any thought to events past that. That made his decision to confess seem useless, but it was something he wanted off his chest regardless. "Besides." He tried to rationalize. "It's kind of pointless to plan ahead until we hear everything Shinozaki knows about that place...and our friends."

"I guess you're right." Yoshiki didn't seemed pleased with admitting that. Satoshi was glad that question was out of way, but he didn't like ending conversations on a negative note, so he said something else.

"Hey, Yoshiki. Thanks for the past few weeks."

"Huh?" He looked over.

"Thanks." Satoshi repeated. "We've all done a lot the past few weeks, and you've helped a lot. So thanks."

"Eh." Yoshiki tried to shrug of the praise. "You've been doing a hell of a lot more then I have. Besides, as much as you stared at Nakashima all day, you'd probably have done something on your own eventually anyway."

"Maybe." Satoshi wasn't so sure he would've had the guts.

"Anyway, you got a chance with Nakashima. Whatever you decide to do, don't waste it." Yoshiki warned. It didn't help Satoshi's nerves about the 24th any, but it did incline him to try harder. Yuka and Yoshiki had put a lot of effort into helping Naomi get better, so he definitely didn't want to screw up all that progress.

When they reached Naomi's house, Ms. Nakashima greeted them warmly. Though none of them missed the slightly apprehensive look on her face either. Did she know the significance of this date as well? If she did? What did she make of their willingness to come here? Whatever it was, she hid it well and offered them snacks she'd made.

"We'll just take them with us." Naomi explained as they all took picks from the tray. Her mother looked disappointed for a brief moment, but let them leave. Naomi didn't look the least bit phased as the four of them made their way up to her room. Satoshi intended to ask Naomi about it, but had to wait.

Naomi's room looked a lot cleaner then when they'd last seen it. There was one other difference though: at the foot of her bed was a little round cat bed. And inside of it was a kitten curled it into a ball. Upon seeing it, Yuka let out a _squee_ of excitement and went to get a closer look. The small creature raised its head and mewled in confusion at the noise, and then again when it saw Yuka staring at it.

"She's still getting use to being here." Naomi explained as she walked next to her, leaned down, and picked the small creature up. It mewled again and stared at them with big blue eyes. It _was _kind of adorable. Yuka carefully reached out and stroked the tiny cat. It was cute...but that wasn't why they were here.

"Naomi..." Satoshi said cautiously. "How much have you told your mom about Shinohara?" He felt bad for crashing the mood, but what had to be done had to be done. Yuka retracted her hand and reluctantly took a few steps back. Naomi looked down at the tiny kitten for a few moments before sitting down on her bed.

"...A lot..." She said, focused more on the kitten in her lap then at them.

"Meaning?" Yoshiki asked. Naomi ceased her petting.

"Everything." She said in a small voice, avoiding their gaze.

"She'll probably think we're all crazy now then." Yoshiki commented. Naomi only looked more ashamed.

"We're not mad." Satoshi said quickly. "It's just... all our parents know something is wrong, so we'll need to figure out something to tell them eventually based on what they know."

"Sorry." Naomi sounded defeated. "I shou-"

"Don't blame yourself again." Naomi jumped slightly at the sharpness in Satoshi's voice. "It's done, so there's no point worrying about it."

"...Ok." Naomi nodded and finally looked back at them. Her eyes had the same tired look to them as right after she'd agreed to talk to them more then a week ago. Yuka sat down next to her and gave her a comforting hug. Naomi smiled and returned it, looking a little more lively.

"Satoshi, Yuka, Kishinuma... Thanks again for being here." Naomi looked at each and every one of them as she said it.

"Don't mention it." Yoshiki walked over to the desk chair and took a seat.

"We said we would." Satoshi reminded her.

"Yeah!" Yuka hugged her arm. Naomi smiled even though her face was turning red. Yoshiki moved the conversation along.

"So we're here to talk about Shinohara?" He asked. Naomi nodded.

"Part of the reason I think I was so upset...was because I wasn't sure if she actually existed. I think if we talked about her... it'd help me remember that she really existed." She looked at them imploringly. Yuka was the first to speak.

"She was very nice." She started. "And her hair was really neat." That summed up what very little Yuka had learned about her. Satoshi imagined the two girls wouldn't have had much in common, but Yuka none the less remembered all of them as her friends as well.

"Never a dull day with her around." Yoshiki's expression went from a grin to a grimace, back to a grin. No doubt, he was remembering the host of stuff Shinohara had pulled, some of it at his own expense. "She was annoying sometimes; Shinozaki got really ticked off at her more then once. But she was fun to have around.

"She was really caring." Satoshi remembered.

"She had younger siblings to take care of. She took over the role of house wife after her mom disappeared." Naomi was nodding. "That's why."

For the next hour, the three of them discussed everything they knew or remembered about Shinohara: Some creative dishes she'd sometimes cook up, the various movies she'd reference in everyday life, her over dramatic way of speaking, all the pranks she'd pulled, all the jokes she made. How'd she always make them laugh even at themselves when she embarrassed them in someway. Amongst the their group of friends, Shinohara had been the brightest and most noticeable member.

Talking about her now, Satoshi and Yoshiki both seemed to realize how much they missed those antics and how they had brightened up their day. It suddenly wasn't so surprising how things seemed dull and gloomy after they'd returned.

Amongst the three older teens was a feeling of mingled happiness and sadness. The memories were good and they were certainly keeping her memory alive. But they were just that: memories. Even though they smiled and laughed at the stories, there was a pained look in their eyes. Even Yuka seemed to be affected by that attitude.

"Excuse me." As the stories got closer and closer to recent times, Naomi had to excuse herself to the bathroom when her eyes started watering. She shifted the kitten over to Yuka's lap, causing it to mew again from being woken up, and got up to leave. The others watched her go. With the conversation having finally halted, the negative mood seemed to come down on them.

"You okay, Yuka?" Satoshi addressed his sister when she sniffed and stared down at the kitten.

"Yes." She tried to sound defiant while she petted it, but wouldn't look up at him. Satoshi didn't press her.

"You know." Yoshiki spun around in the chair a few times. "I didn't realize till just now how boring all of you were." That was his attempt at staying positive about it.

"Yeah..." Satoshi sighed. "Shinohara really did make things interesting..." It was depressing to think such things would never happen again. On the other hand, they were doing this to preserve her memory. Satoshi could almost vividly hear her crazy laugh that she did whenever something went according to one of her plans.

Naomi, though, was clearly reaching her limit on how much she could hear her friend's name. It would probably be wise to stop soon. But before there did, there was something Satoshi wanted to say. He hoped when he did it would really help Naomi keep on trying to live happy.

Naomi came back in and sat back down. Her eyes didn't look red, but they still seemed to be watery. But the smiled and laughed when the kitten recognized her, mewled, and walked back into her lap. Both the girls fawned over it for a bit before Naomi addressed them all.

"Thank you... I... I really feel like Seiko would appreciate what we're doing."

"I'm sure she does." Satoshi nodded. Naomi smiled. She opened her mouth like she was going to say something but closed it. Her eyes started watering after a moment. What was she thinking?

"Naomi?" Yuka asked. "Are you okay?" Naomi jumped like she'd forgotten they were there.

"Oh, yeah." She said quickly.

"We don't have to keep talking about her if it bothers you." Yoshiki offered. Naomi shook her head.

"No, no! I'm fine." She insisted. "I... just miss her... We were so close...I'm not use to being alone."

"Hey, we're here." Yoshiki reminded her.

"Yeah!" Yuka agreed.

"None of us are alone, Naomi. We all have each other." Satoshi felt disappointed when Naomi didn't look convinced. She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't. "Is something wrong?" Satoshi asked, holding off his question. The others were looking anxiously at her too. Naomi seemed to realize this and immediately tried to look happy again.

"No. You guys are right. I'm really happy you're all here." She smiled and looked at her clocks. "It's getting late." She realized. It was almost 5:00. "Maybe you should start heading home."

"I got a shift in an hour." Yoshiki realized and stood up. "I better get going."

"Kishinuma, thank you again for coming." Yoshiki nodded.

"See you around Satoshi, Nakashima." He said goodbye as he left.

"Big Brother." Yuka was looking at the clock. "Mom will want us home for dinner."

"Right..." Satoshi acknowledged reluctantly. He couldn't help but think Naomi was trying to send them off to avoid telling them something. "Naomi, you're not upset are you?" He asked. "You didn't like talking about Shinohara before." To her credit, Naomi kept a straight face when she answered.

"No, I'm fine. It really made me feel better not having to pretend she never existed." She glanced at the calendar on the bulletin board, where the 22nd was noticeably circled. "I know now she cared about me... And she'd want me to be happy." In spite of being worried, Satoshi realized she was genuinely glad.

"Well, we're all here if you ever want to talk about her more." Satoshi offered. Naomi smiled and nodded.

"Satoshi...thank you." For some reason, her saying that made him blush. "Your parents probably won't like it if you come back late from here twice and a row." She glanced at the clock again. Satoshi held back a sigh. If there was something Naomi wanted to say... she'd tell them eventually. He'd wanted to say more about Shinohara too, but it seemed too late for that.

"Right... Yuka?" She stood up and stretched. She took a few more moments to pet the kitten sleeping in Naomi's lap before turning back to him.

"Ready." She nodded.

"I see you in school tomorrow then. Bye, Naomi."

"Bye." She nodded. "See you tomorrow." Both Mochida siblings waved goodbye and left. Satoshi was still thinking about Naomi as they walked down the stairs.

"Thank you for coming over." Ms. Nakashima saw them off. "Naomi's really been feeling a lot better recently thanks to you three." She was gushing again, which only caused the two of them to leave in embarrassment. It was colder outside now as the sun set. They were both still just in their school uniforms, and moved closer to stay warm. Satoshi was too busy thinking to be bothered though.

She was hiding something, he could just tell. But what? It had to be about Shinohara; Naomi only started showing strain after they'd been discussing her for a while. But what was it that she couldn't tell them?

"Big Brother?" Yuka asked as they walked.

"Hmm?" Satoshi paid attention to her for a moment.

"Why do you look sad?" She asked, and Satoshi realized once again he hadn't hid his emotions well enough.

"I'm not Yuka, don't worry." He told her. "I'm just a little worried about Naomi. She seemed upset."

"She's happy we all came." Yuka spoke with certainty.

"Yeah... But I think there was something she wanted to tell us but couldn't." Satoshi scratched the back of her head. "I wonder what it was?" Yuka looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Maybe she wanted to ask you about your date?" She suggested. Satoshi's face flushed a deep color, which made Yuka giggle. He hadn't considered that. In fact, for those few hours, he'd entirely forgotten. Was that it? But if that was it, why wouldn't she say so? Embarrassment? Satoshi supposed it was possible... But he wasn't sure.

He'd have to ask her later. Yuka had reminded him of a fact that made his knees shake and suddenly made the last few hours seem like months: In just 48 hours, he'd be picking up Naomi for their date.

XX A/N XX

Well, what am I expected to say? Ya'll know when the next chapter will be up.


	14. December 24th I

XX A/N XX

The day has cometh at last. As with the 14th, this day will span multiple chapters.

X December 24th X

The 24th was here at last. And it wasn't just Satoshi that felt it. The whole town seem to wake up alert that morning. Come evening, it would be very active out there. Thousands of couples would be out. The city would be lit up. Venues would be busy. It really was a exciting day.

And terrifying. Satoshi had taken a long time to fall asleep the previous night. And even though he'd woken up groggy, the realization of what day it was filled him with the adrenaline necessary to function. The time he was supposed to pick Naomi up was only twelve hours away, but to Satoshi it seemed to be both far away and very close.

He decided to tackle the day one stage at a time. The first stage: school. He'd see Naomi there, and that would definitely make him nervous. But school stopped for nothing, so the amount of work they'd have would hopefully keep him distracted and occupied so he wouldn't worry. With that in mind, he decided that on that particular day, it was important to get to school only right before classes started.

"Big Brother?" Yuka hadn't really poked into the matter since she learned of it, but on the walk that morning, her questioning was insistent. "Are you ready? You got her a gift, right? Don't forget to dress nice!"

"Yuka." Satoshi was starting to get nervous from all these reminders still early in the morning. "That's my business."

"But if you mess up, Naomi might not want to see us again!" She protested. Satoshi decided a change of tactics was in order.

"I've prepared. How about you? A boy taking you out today?" She gasped at the question, flushed, and looked away.

"T-that's none of y-your business!" She stuttered. The rest of the walk to school concluded without any further discussion on the subject of dating.

Unfortunately for Satoshi, he wasn't free of reminders there either. The entire student body of Kisaragi Academy, from both the middle school and high school, were excited for the day. Guys talked about what they'd planned or the reservations they got, all the while looking nervous themselves. Girls talked excitedly about who was taking them out and what they hoped for. And you even had a few guys asking out girls at the last minute, who mostly accepted despite the timing.

Seeing Naomi didn't help Satoshi's courage any either. They didn't even exchange greetings that morning. As soon as Satoshi walked in, they'd both locked eyes, blushed, and held that was a few seconds till Satoshi broke free and walked over to his desk and gratefully collapsed in it to sooth his wobbling legs. He took relief in the fact he wasn't the only guy showing such behavior. The day had certainly seized the mind of the city's inhabitants; it could be seen everywhere.

But 24th or not, school was still school and classes had to be taught. Once they did, Satoshi was able to slip into a distracted state along side everyone else. Yoshiki was absent that day, definitely going to visit Shinozaki in the hospital. Satoshi wondered if part of it was because he couldn't stand seeing so many people acting affectionately while the girl he was interested in was comatose.

Satoshi and Naomi both avoid each other for the entire day, especially during break periods and lunch. Satoshi actually did forget about the upcoming date for a while in his classes, which allowed him to finally calm door. But all too soon it seemed the clock chimed three and school was over. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he was paralyzed in his desk for a moment.

_There were only three hours left. _With it so close now, he was actually starting to feel a sense of excitement. But the nervous terror persisted for sure. That was joined by paralyzing embarrassment when Satoshi realized Naomi had approached his desk without him noticing after the bell rang. There was a long moment while they just stared at each other, their faces becoming progressively redder every second.

"S-see -y-you soon." Naomi managed to get out.

"Y-yeah." Satoshi stuttered back. "I'll p-pick you up at six."

"Okay!" Naomi sounded excited and then, with surprising speed, she turned and left the classroom. Satoshi sat there for another moment waiting for his legs to stop shaking before getting up, taking his stuff, and started for home. It was hard to believe Naomi was just as embarrassed as he was about this. It encouraged him a little.

Satoshi had waited so long to leave, it was Yuka waiting for him this time instead of the other way around. She was not pleased. "Where were you?" She demanded.

"Class." Satoshi answered non-committedly. "Let's head home. I need to get ready." Yuka dropped her complaints then and they both hurried home.

Once he got there, he quickly went up to his room and dropped his stuff off. Now he had to get ready. That meant taking a bath, getting dressed, making sure he had everything, checking three extra times that he had everything, and then making sure he left early enough to get to Naomi's house at six. He had two and a half hours for all that.

The first step was the bath, obviously. Even though baths were mostly meant for relaxing, he knew he didn't have too much time to do that. Still, he decided to soak for a while and think. With the date so close, the actual event didn't seem so bad; there was nothing wrong with just walking about the city for the evening and sightseeing, since a lot couples did it anyway. He was kind of embarrassed he'd worried so much over.

No, what worried him was the inevitable talking. Certainly, hopefully, they'd find a few neutral subjects to talk about, but the other matters couldn't be ignored. Sure, they'd talked about it before. But that was all of them. Here, it would just be the two of them. And since Satoshi was now Naomi's closest friend, he was sure there were some things she'd only feel comfortable talking about with him. It was anyone's guess what those would be though.

But Satoshi knew, especially after the intervention and asking Naomi out, he could do a great many daunting things if they were necessary. And this was very much necessary.

That confident thought in mind, Satoshi decided to move on with his checklist. He still had two hours, plenty of time to get dressed and check to make sure he was prepared.

It was a nice blue dress shirt, not too different from his school uniform except for color. He slipped it on along with a clean pair of jeans and sneakers and observed himself in the mirror. He didn't look too different from his normal self, but it was clear he looked nicer. He started combing his hair afterwards. When he'd finally finished, he could easily describe himself as handsome. Hopefully Naomi would think so too.

He returned to his room to make sure he had everything. He had his allowance in his pocket, just in case they did find something to do. He had the box of chocolates he intended to give her, having purchased it a few days ago when he took Yuka shopping so she could get Shinozaki something. And lastly he had a map of the city he'd been studying to decide where they should walk.

The whole city would be decorated, but there were spaces that were more decorated then others. Some of the plazas in the shopping district had giant Christmas trees set up. And at the waterfront a lot of ships would be decorated as well. The way Satoshi had planned it, they could walk around the suburbs for a bit, since some of the displays residences put up truly were amazing, explore the shopping district for an hour or so, and then end their walk at the water front. Aside from the lights, there would be a fireworks show starting at nine. Satoshi couldn't think of a better way to conclude things.

He checked his pockets and his appearance several times afterwards. He found nothing missing and no flaws. Then he looked over the map a few times, finding absolutely no fault with it. He still had an hour and a half till he had to pick Naomi up, which went down to about an hour since he had to walk to her house first.

He was as ready as he could be. But even with all the preparation, that sense of nervousness refused to disappear. He imagined it wouldn't till after the date concluded. It was starting to play with his nerves, so he went downstairs into the kitchen for a calming glass of juice. He needed to keep himself occupied for a while longer.

"Satoshi?" His mother approached him as he entered the kitchen. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Huh?" He was caught off guard by the request. But he had a little while before he had to go, so he couldn't really make an excuse. "What is it?" He asked.

"Please have a seat." She motioned to the table and sat down herself. A little bit reluctant, Satoshi did so too. Was this going to be one of those 'responsibility' talks? He hoped not. Something like THAT was not going to help him this close to the start.

"Yes?" He waited anxiously.

"Satoshi, we acknowledge you're nearly an adult, but you're still a teenager." She started, fixing him with a serious stare. Oh god, it was one of these conversations. "Your still in school, you're still our son, and you're still living in our house. So we're worried about you.." He held back a groan. But then the conversation went somewhere entirely unexpected to Satoshi.

"I was on the phone with your friend's mother for a while yesterday." She revealed, and Satoshi felt an all new type of nervousness overcoming him.

"Oh." Was all he managed to say. _Damn. I really don't want to worry about this now._ She'd clearly been watching his reaction. She must've expected something different, because she just sighed.

"Satoshi... I just hope you all will have something good to say when the time comes." Satoshi wasn't sure how to answer that, so she moved on. "So you're taking this girl out still?" Satoshi nodded. His mother didn't say anything for a while. He was surprised she was bringing this up now, since she'd hadn't bothered too much when Yuka blurted it out. Had Ms. Nakashima told her something that had changed her mind?

"Her name's Naomi." Satoshi felt the need to say that. His mother nodded.

"She seems like a nice girl." She commented, even though she could only have a rough idea of her from whatever Ms. Nakashima had told her. It may have just been fear, or maybe confidence due to the string of recent good occurrences, but Satoshi decided he'd take this head on.

"What is it you want to say, mom?" She was caught off guard by his sudden confrontational response.

"I just want to know why you're suddenly so interested in this girl when she's clearly not well." There was a tense moment as they both stared across the table at each other. Satoshi's mind was working to find a response to that question. To his surprise, he realized this was a question he could answer with a completely honest answer.

"Because I realized how much I cared about her when she changed, and I hope she'll turn back to normal if I spend time with her." Because it wasn't a lie, he was able to answer strongly. His mother tried to stare through him for near a minute before backing down.

"Ok, Satoshi. If you say so." The battle won, or at least forestalled. Satoshi got up to head back to his room, the juice forgotten. That had been an unpleasant reminder on what was supposed to be a good day. But at the same time, he was surprised by what he'd said because he realized he'd meant every word.

Feeling a strange mixture of pleased and embarrassed, Satoshi headed back to his room. On his way, he passed Yuka, dressed up in cold weather gear.

"Huh?" Satoshi stopped, surprised to see her ready to go outside. "Yuka, are you going somewhere?" He asked. Had someone asked her out? She nodded.

"My friend Satsuki invited me over to her house with a bunch of friends for a party." She explained. "Mom said I could go."

"Oh." Satoshi acknowledged. So even Yuka had something to do on this day. He wondered where Yoshiki happened to be at that one moment. "Have fun then."

"Are you ready for your date?" Yuka suddenly demanded in a stern voice. "Don't upset her!"

"I got it Yuka." Satoshi found her concern endearing. "I won't screw it up." She smiled and hugged him briefly before continuing past.

"Good luck, Big Brother!" Yuka called as she left. Satoshi watched her go. That it was just him and his mother left in the house now, something that suddenly made him uncomfortable.

Satoshi decided he would leave a little earlier than planned. Staying around the house now just made him feel awkward. Walking would be a distraction of sorts. So he donned a coat, tucked the intended gift under his arm, and set out. Since he'd end up getting there twenty minutes early at a regular pace, he walked a little slower.

He wasn't the only one out either. There were dozens of other people walking around the suburbs, mostly males, likewise carrying gifts and looking nervous. A few couples were already out as well, already looking happy. It was still early and the sun had yet to sink below the horizon, so a lot of the lights people had decorated their houses with weren't turned on yet.

Satoshi think too much as he walked; he just kept putting on foot in front of the other. But he couldn't help but wonder, not for the first time but in a different light, just how December might've gone is Heavenly Host _hadn't _happened. Where would he have been right now? He wasn't sure.

Despite deliberately walking slow, Satoshi still ended up arriving at Naomi's house around 5:45, a full fifteen minutes early. He awkwardly stood outside the gate, wondering if being early would be a good thing. Before he could decide that though, the front door opened and Ms. Nakashima stepped out. Satoshi had only been standing there for maybe half a minute. Had she been watching?

Whether or not she had been, she greeted him warmly and opened to gate to allow him inside. "Naomi's still getting ready. But please, come in." She insisted. Off put by her cheery personality, Satoshi still didn't really have a choice since he'd been spotted. He entered the living room and sat down on the couch, setting the box on chocolates on his right knee.

Despite Ms. Nakashima's attempts to be hospital, Satoshi couldn't hope but think back to the conversation between him and his mother. She was still worried about her daughter, and now she was no doubt suspicious about all of them after the 22nd. It was all worrying.

But they weren't interfering for the time being. So for that, especially on this day, Satoshi was grateful. At least he was till Naomi's mother started talking.

"Satoshi, wasn't it?" She asked. He nodded and was startled when she laughed.

"I thought there was something familiar about your name when you introduced yourself." She explained. "I didn't remember till Naomi revealed she was going out this evening, but she use to talk about you all the time."

"R-really?" Satoshi stuttered. He blushed when he thought about it. Naomi talking about him here when she was at home? How often? What had she said?

"Yes." Ms. Nakashima nodded. "So I guess it's not surprising it was you who asked her out. She was so embarrassed about it she didn't tell me till yesterday!" Naomi had kept the news to herself that long? Either way, it explained why her mom hadn't called Satoshi's till just yesterday. Satoshi sat there, too embarrassed to say anything.

Fortunately, the sound of someone descending the stairs distracted both of them. Satoshi was surprised to realize he was no longer nervous. No, now he was eager.

Looking a little embarrassed, Naomi came down the stairs. "Satoshi!" She blushed when she saw him.

"Naomi." Satoshi quickly stood up. Given the weather, she obviously couldn't dress up too much for the occasion. She was wearing a pair of black jeans and a blue sweatshirt. Not much, but... "You look nice." He complimented. Her blush deepened.

"T-thank you." Satoshi remember what he was holding.

"I got you these." He held out the box.

"Thank you." She accepted with a smile.

"Are you...ready to go?" Satoshi asked when awkward silence threatened to develop.

"Oh...right!" She laughed nervously. "Just let me get my coat!" She turned and darted back up the stairs. Satoshi watched her go. When she was gone, he suddenly realized how hot he felt bundled up in his coat, causing him to pull on the collar uncomfortably. Naomi's mother had watched the exchange and must've found it adorable, because she sighed.

And then Naomi came back down the stairs, now wrapped up in a red coat. "Ready." She sounded out of breath. She was still red in the face, but it was clear to Satoshi she was excited. And he realized he was too. This was something he'd dreamed about even before Heavenly Host, and it was something he'd worked towards all month. And now it was finally happening.

All traces of nervousness disappeared. Any doubt or reluctance disappeared as well. This was a day they both clearly wanted to enjoy, and he intended to do just that.

"Okay." He hesitated for a moment and then stuck out his arm. "Shall we?" She smiled and they locked arms. Having her stand so close made Satoshi nervous, again, but he pushed it away. "Let's go then." They headed for the door.

XX A/N XX

I'll try and get all three chapters up today. I had these largely prewritten...but there was an accident with the memory stick I had the documents on a week ago, so I had to rewrite all the chapters from scratch for the rest of the story. And it just so happened to catch up to me on this day. I apologize in advance if I am unable to maintain the previously stated update schedule, but I should get at least one up tonight...although you'll probably hate me for it regardless.


	15. December 24th II

XX A/N XX

Christmas is quite a busy time. I apologize that this is late. Uploading chapters on the day they take place was a gimmick to make it more interesting, but ultimately I'm more concerned with quality then maintaining that, hence why this was late and why the story will be updated into January.

P.S. I keep track of the views my story get, so I saw a lot of people kept coming back and checking for updates and not finding any. For that, I sincerely apologize again. Though I'm kind of touched so many people would obsessively check.

X December 24th X

The sun had set quite a bit during the time Satoshi had been indoors. Now, as the two of them stepped out onto the street, it was only just visible above the horizon and quickly fading. Some people had already turned on their light displays.

"So...where are we going?" Naomi asked as they stood in front of her house.

"Well, I'd thought we'd spend the evening sightseeing." Satoshi explained. "They've been decorating the city for weeks now. And there's supposed to be a firework show later tonight down by the waterfront."

"Ok." Naomi agreed, and from then on it was Satoshi's job to lead. He admittedly wasn't too familiar with this neighborhood, just enough to get from his house to Naomi's. He'd seen a lot of lights hung up on his way over, so he decided for now they'd just walk in that direction. There were still a lot people walking around, including more couples now.

Satoshi's heart was beating loudly in his chest, but not from fear or nervousness. He actually felt kind of giddy. He and Naomi were alone together, something rarely occurring before. He couldn't believe how close they were either. But what got to him most was Naomi's face: the corners on her mouth were pointed upwards and her eyes seemed to be closed. She looked so happy.

Was this real? Was he dreaming? No, no dream could be this vivid. This was _real_. Still, it was hard to believe.

_Is she really this happy already?_ Satoshi wondered. He jumped a little inwardly when she opened her eyes, but didn't catch him staring.

"It looks so pretty." She said out loud. Satoshi turned his attention back forward. Hundreds of lights of various color were hung up on both sides of the street. Many were blinking, creating the impression that anybody walking by was stepping into a spotlight of constantly shifting colors. The sun had definitely set by now, but all the lights still made it seem as if it was evening.

"Yeah. Like I said, they were preparing for a while." Satoshi watched her face turn pink.

"I should've come out and seen it more."

"Well, you're here now, that's what matters." Satoshi tried to cheer her up. "You don't have to get embarrassed about it all the time." He told her, which only caused her to seem even more embarrassed.

"I'm just wish I could go back and act differently." She admitted. "I made everyone worry. I almost destroyed my school record... I made myself sick from not eating...I was such an idiot."

"Naomi... Please stop blaming yourself for everything." Satoshi made her look at him. "After what happened, nothing is your fault. We're all victims of what happened. You remember when we told that?" Naomi looked at him and then at her feet. "Naomi. Do you still want to talk about it?" Naomi jerked her head up.

"No, no!" She said quickly. "This... we shouldn't talk about that stuff on our date." Her saying that made him blush again.

"I-I don't mind Naomi." He said quickly. "This is all to help you get better after all." She looked surprised.

"Is...that what this is for?"

"Of course." Satoshi nodded.

"Oh..." Naomi looked away for a moment. Was she still surprised after all this time?

"Naomi, we're your friends. We'll do anything to help you." Satoshi reminded her.

"...Thank you." She replied after a moment. She glanced around nervously. They still were far from the only ones walking down this pathway, but everyone seemed to be keeping to themselves. Still, it was clear to see that they were all smiling, while the two teenagers weren't. "I keep blaming myself because I don't want to blame others."

"What do you mean?"

"Whenever I got upset or emotional, I'd take it out on the people around me." She explained. "I pushed Seiko away because of that...and she died alone." Her voice rose on the last few words, and without thinking Satoshi reached his free arm over and put it on her shoulder. She stared at her feet for a while, and Satoshi had to guide both of them down the street as they got a few weird looks till she recovered. "I'm... not sure how to act anymore."

"Oh." Satoshi looked front again for a few moments, neither of them paying any attention to the light displays now. "Our friends would want you to act happy." He reasoned. "I know Shinohara would've."

"I don't think that's fair. They deserve more than that." She protested. Satoshi thought he could see the problem.

"Naomi... there's not much we can do for them anymore. You should know that by now... But it's even worse if we don't do anything at all. Oh! Sorry!" Satoshi had to guide them to the side to avoid colliding with another couple. "Naomi... think about what you _can_ do, instead of what you can't." He suggested.

"...Seiko would hate me if she saw me like this." Naomi sighed. "I've done nothing good about preserving her memory."

"She'd never get mad at you." Satoshi shook his head. "She never got mad at anyone." He tried to persuade her. Much to Satoshi's nervousness, Naomi was silent for a whole three blocks. By then they were getting close again to his house, so he tried to restart the conversation.

"I was thinking we could walk around the shopping district." He suggested. "They have those giant Christmas trees set up." Naomi snapped out of her trance, looking flustered and confused.

"O-okay." She agreed. Their arms still locked, Satoshi was leading again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so distracted now."

"I don't mind." Satoshi said quickly even though the silence _did_ bother him. "We're not going to rush you Naomi. We'll help you get over this no matter how long it takes."

"Thank you..." She said again. "I... I don't know how I forgot I had other friends that cared about me."

"That's over now though. And once Shinozaki wakes up, we can all move on, hopefully. Hopefully." Satoshi repeated, his mind drifting to Yoshiki's warning.

"Hmm. Yeah." Naomi sighed and, much to Satoshi's further surprise, leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. Satoshi looked over at her. She had here eyes closed, just enjoying where she was. Satoshi blushed looking at her. She seemed so peaceful and beau-

_Clang_

Without realizing it, Satoshi had walked right into a crosswalk sign, bringing both of them to a stop. "Satoshi!" Naomi cried worriedly when he stumbled back from the impact. The crowd gathered at the same crossing saw. A few laugh, but most smirked or smiled knowingly; you couldn't blame someone for staring at their crush on this day.

"I'm okay." He said quickly after shaking his head and rubbing his sore face. "Just uh... I'm fine." He insisted in humiliation. The crowd had already crossed the street when he recovered. He made a note to focus on where he was stepping for the rest of the night. "Let's keep going." He offered his arm again. Naomi looked unsure for a moment, but smiled at his perseverance.

"Okay." They locked arms again and continued on their way. Even after Naomi rested her head on his shoulder again, Satoshi was determined to avoid another mishap. But he was hyper aware of the weight on his shoulder and how her hair brushed against his neck as they walked. She'd never done anything like that before, so why now?

Even this late on this day, many of the stores were packed to the brim with people still shopping for items. But the shopping district seemed to positively _glow_. Even if you looked up, it would still seem to be daytime. "So many lights." Naomi breathed when Satoshi urged her to open her eyes. Red. Green. Blue. The colors flashed and bathed the entire world that color for a brief second, like they were all synchronized. It was remarkable to look at.

Like Satoshi had suggested, they just walked around for a while, taking in all the dazzling lights. It took him a while to realize, but they were actually enjoying themselves. They were weren't thinking, let alone talking about, any of the terrible things they'd experienced. He'd hoped for it, but was still stunned. Was this really that enjoyable for her?

He thought about his intended confession and how she would respond. And then he thought about how Ms. Nakashima had told him Naomi use to talk about him all the time. When combined with the fact she was clearly enjoying herself, Satoshi wondered something: Did she actually _like _him as well? The thought made him unsteady on his feet, though it fortunately went un-noticed. He couldn't imagine anything better.

"Satoshi, look at that!" Naomi pointed. They'd been walking by the plaza outside of one of the three malls in the shopping district. Standing proudly in the center of the plaza was a massive Christmas tree, towering high in the air above the crowds and almost over the building it stood in front of. The two of them joined the crowd looking at it.

Thousands of blinking lights covered the tree, giving the impression it was twinkling in the night. Decorative white snowflakes hung from branches at various height. Four strings of lights were hooked up at ground level and were strung in the air towards the tip of the tree where they were all wrapped around it. And at the very top was a white star, shining brighter then any of the lights below it. It was amazing to look at.

Satoshi tore his gaze away to look at the girl beside him though. Her brown hair, brown eyes- heck, her whole self- seemed to glow saintly in the light. Just looking at her, he felt his breath get caught in this throat. _She's so beautiful._ He thought, this time without the penalty of running into a pole. And here they were together on the 24th, arm in arm. It was still hard to believe.

"Hmm?" Naomi caught him staring and turned her head, which made him turn his attention back front and mumble what was intended to be an excuse. "What did you say, Satoshi?" She asked.

"Uh... I asked if you were enjoying yourself." Satoshi improvised quickly with a question he was genuinely wondering. "You've been quiet most of the night." He glanced back when she giggled.

"I am." She answered. "It's nice even if we aren't talking." And then she rested her head on his shoulder again while she continued staring at the tree. Satoshi was still surprised by that move. Naomi, due to her...appealing physical appearance, was normally extremely edgy about personal space. She didn't seem to mind tonight though. That meant something, Satoshi was sure.

Satoshi checked his watch and realized it was just a few minutes before 7:30. They'd been out for a while now, and most of it had surprisingly been spent in peaceful content silence. They really could enjoy themselves, it seemed, without Heavenly Host bothering them.

The tree was captivating, but there were other sights to see, so the pair moved on a few minutes later. Satoshi kept an eye out on the various stores and restaurants they passed, but it seemed like every venue was inaccessible for the rest of the night. Even if Naomi was happy with just sightseeing, Satoshi would've liked to treat her to some dinner.

Still, he would be happy if the night concluded with just having done this.

The two walked around the shopping district for a while longer. Though as the evening went on, the area became more and more crowded as more couples entered the area. Before too long, they couldn't even walk without bumping into others. Satoshi couldn't help but notice Naomi was starting to look uncomfortable due to the crowds, and he was started to become annoyed by having to shoulder by people to keep moving. It was time to continue the night.

"The firework show starts in an hour." Satoshi checked his watch. "Let's head down to the waterfront." She was clearly relieved when he said it.

"Okay." Naomi nodded.

The waterfront was already crowded even though they'd gotten there half an hour before the firework show started. Many people, single and otherwise, were standing near the railing. Many were standing further back in the street, and some had taken to standing on bridges. The pair had tried to get few glimpses at the ships sitting out on the water, but didn't have much luck.

The couple from Kisaragi Academy had retreated a few blocks away to a bench in the park, which was lit up but was otherwise deserted as the masses gathered near the water front. They had a decent view of the sky from here anyway, but Satoshi was still uneasy about the choice.

"You sure you don't want to get a better view?" He asked. Naomi had insisted on watching it from here, and was sitting on the other side of the bench with her hands in her lap.

"I'm sure." She was watching the sky. "It's more private here." She explained.

"Oh." Satoshi realized, and then started blushing. "Is there...something you want to tell me?"

"Mhm." She confirmed without giving away any details.

"Well..." Satoshi said nervously. "I'll listen to whatever you want to say." The mood had been so nice so far tonight, but he'd let it revert if it was for the best. And then another thought occurred to him: they were somewhere _private. _Private places were the best for confessing things. With that realization in mind, his heart started beating loudly and his hands quivered.

This as the perfect chance... Although obviously he had to wait till Naomi spoke first.

But the silence only grew in length. Naomi looked nervous, kneading her hands in her lap and moving her knees back in forth. She didn't look up at him, and her hair had fallen in a way that blocked her eyes, but he saw her mouth open and close again, several times. It must've been something hard to say then, but Satoshi recognized this from a few days previous.

"Naomi... is it about Shinohara?" He asked. She nodded once, paused, and then shook her head. "Huh?" Satoshi wasn't sure what that meant.

"Satoshi!" He jumped when she barked out his name and then went quiet. "...I just want to say...thank you for tonight." She said in a much quieter voice. "It's been nice." She didn't make eye contact with him.

"I'm...glad." Satoshi answered, feeling both worried and confused by her behavior.

"All three of you have really been great friends." She went on. "I-I'm thankful to all of you. You all thought you could help and didn't quit even though I didn't want help. I really think I can start living like I did before now."

"That's great!" Satoshi was relieved to hear her sound so sure. After seeing her act normal tonight and hearing that, Satoshi was certain now she really was on her way back to her senses. But why was she saying all of this without looking at him?

"I'm...really glad we can all stay friends. Even now."

"Of course." Satoshi nodded. Naomi was quiet for another moment. Satoshi watched her till he was distracted by a loud _pop_ above. He lifted his head and saw a bright array of red sparks explode in the air and fade. "The fireworks show is starting." He realized.

"Satoshi." Naomi grabbed his attention again. Unlike him, she hadn't looked up. Even as the show picked up, she still wasn't looking up. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Satoshi nodded, tuning out the fireworks above. "Go ahead." Naomi's hands were balled into fists on her lap when she spoke.

"Earlier...you said that you did this to help me feel better. Was...that the only reason?" She asked. Satoshi didn't understand her question at first. But a second later it hit him: He hadn't realized it earlier, but when he had said he'd asked her out to help make her feel better, he'd made it sound like it was the _only _reason. She wanted to know if there was a _personal_ reason he'd done this.

She'd given him the perfect opportunity to confess.

Satoshi felt his mouth go dry and his face hot despite the cold weather. He was caught off guard. He couldn't remember anything of what he'd planned to say. And this was far from the setting he'd envisioned. The two of them together under the fireworks? Yes. Alone on a park bench while Naomi wasn't even looking up? He was not going into this conversation confident.

He swallowed and shook his head. He'd told himself he was going to do this. He wanted Naomi to know, and she wanted to know. And after all he'd accomplished in the last month, a few nerves weren't going to stop him. Like before, he just opened his mouth and started to speak.

"Naomi. We've all suffered a lot in the last few months. We lost a lot. We saw and learned things we never should've had too... And then there was the whole business with you and Shinozaki... It made me realize something." She finally looked back at him. She looked weary. Afraid even? He couldn't tell; he was too focused on keeping talking.

"In Heavenly Host, when I found you trying to hang yourself, I was really terrified you weren't going to survive. I just didn't realize it till later, but I felt the exact same way after you went after that monster and Shinohara's body." He could see her flinch at the mention of the later occurrence, but he could tell he had her complete attention now.

"When you didn't show up at school last month, I was really worried." He went on. "When we found out you were in the hospital... I waited there a whole day to hear if you were alright and to see you." Talking about those events, Satoshi could almost feel the same sense of hopelessness he'd felt then. Almost. "When we did get to see you... you were sedated." Satoshi's voice had started out strong, but it got lower in tone as he continued.

"I... hated seeing you like that. It really upset me, not knowing what Shinozaki and you had done or why. I kept asking myself why it had happened and what made you guys act. I realized that things were bad for all of us then, and that we couldn't just let it continue. Seeing you made me realize we had to do something." He was getting close now.

"That's part of it. A lot of it was because I wanted to help everyone. I've been worried about all of us. But I was especially worried about you Naomi. I wanted to help you however I could. Do whatever it took. It kept me up at night, wondering what I could do. It really got to me, Naomi, and it made me realize something." He didn't pause before saying the next bit.

"I love you, Naomi. I really do." After a full month of antagonizing over it, he'd finally done it. He confessed.

Satoshi had been telling the truth the other day when he'd told Yoshiki he hadn't planned past this day; what he said next was completely made up on the spot. It was a sudden realization, completely spur of the moment. He hadn't realized he wanted it till just that moment.

"And...I really like spending time with you. I want to spend more time with you. I hope...that whatever happens to us in the future...we can face it _together._" He reached over and grabbed her hands. "Naomi...please tell me that's how you feel too."

She stared at him after he finished, unblinking, for several moments that made his face grow hotter with every one. Then she swung her head back and stared into her lap. Satoshi was shocked to see a few glistening tears drop from her face. He didn't immediately panic; he'd learned from Yuka that girls could cry when they were happy. But in those instances, they didn't let out choked sob like Naomi did just then.

Satoshi wasn't sure what he'd expected her reaction to be, but this wasn't it. That wasn't a reaction of happiness; it was the exact opposite. Had he said something wrong?

"N-Naomi?" Satoshi asked, a feeling of dread suddenly coming over him.

Without even looking up at him, she shook her head.

XX A/N XX

On second thought, maybe it is a good thing I didn't upload this then disappear for a few days; ya'll would've hunted me down and chained me to a keyboard till I amended the story. The next chapter, and the answers it contains for the questions all of you are surely asking (screaming) right now, will be up tomorrow evening. I promise this time.


	16. December 24th III

XX A/N XX

Decided to wait to post this- my new years gift to you all. Quite a response to the last one. This chapter creates more questions then answers, but I hope it satisfies.

X December 24th X

Satoshi remembered the moment in Heavenly Host when his optimism after arriving vanished and he realized that he truly was trapped in that school. It had felt like his entire life was crashing around him. He was having the same feeling now. She'd shook her head. She'd said _no_.

"Oh." He said, his mind in a daze. She'd said no; he'd understood that much, possibly because he'd always feared it. But part of his mind was still asking: _what the hell just happened?_ All the signs had pointed to a opposite conclusion... He was stunned, unsure what else he could possibly say now. Unsure about what to do now.

Naomi broke down crying a moment later. And then, even more surprising, she lunged across the bench and grabbed onto him. "I'm sorry!" She sobbed into chest while maintaining a death grip on his shoulders. "I'm so sorry!" She sobbed the phrase over and over again, soaking his coat in no time.

Satoshi had been snapped out of his bewildered state by her action, and what he saw made him decide quickly what to do. He wasn't a mean person, so he wasn't going to get mad at her for turning him down. He certainly couldn't when she was clearly so tore up about having said so. No, he still cared about her, so he was going to still help her.

"Naomi." Satoshi tried to calm her down. "Don't be upset. I'm not mad that you don't feel-"

"No!" She shouted, startling Satoshi. "I do! I love you too!" She sobbed, her hands digging even harder into his shoulder.

"Y-you do?" Satoshi stuttered. His mind locked up again. So she _did_ feel the same. But then why had she shook her head? Why was she clearly upset? And why was she apologizing? This was too confusing to Satoshi. He couldn't even be happy at the fact he'd got a confession back. What was going on here?

"Yes. I do." She leaned back for a brief moment that allowed Satoshi to see her tear stained face before she set her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. She was still sobbing. Sitting there dumbstruck with a red face in a noticeably damp coat, Satoshi hesitantly stuck out his arms and, after a moment, wrapped them around Naomi's back. She didn't protest.

Still, an explanation would've been nice.

"So...what's wrong?" Satoshi asked, treading cautiously. He would've asked why she said no, but he thought that would be too sensitive a question. He didn't get an answer immediately. This time, it took Naomi a few minutes to calm down. Once she was, she went back over to her side of the bench and tried unsuccessfully to clean her face with her sleeve.

"Satoshi..." She sniffed. "I... I really like you. And...I'm glad you like me too." She wiped her face with her sleeve again. "I really am." She insisted. Satoshi was only more confused till she clarified. "But... I can't be in a relationship."

"Oh." Satoshi suddenly understood: she'd shook her head because he'd asked her to be his girlfriend. That wasn't as bad as he'd thought. But he couldn't help but feel let down even though it was something he realized he wanted just moments ago. "Why?" He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him even though she was upset. She flinched when he asked, and whispered something that he couldn't hear. "Huh?"

"Seiko." She repeated a little louder.

"Shinohara...?" Satoshi asked. "How is-" Satoshi froze and his eyes widened as a thought from earlier in the month, forgotten in the face of other things, came back to him: _Were Naomi and Shinohara just friends?_ "O-oh." He stuttered, his face growing red hot. That had been just a random thought brought on by pessimism. To actually hear it confirmed...

Naomi nodded, too humiliated to look at him. "I-I really think she thought of me like that. And... I think I might of thought of her like that too." She admitted. "That's why her being gone hurts so much." Satoshi was speechless. His mind had completely shut down. He wasn't thinking, only listening. "You never thought of that, I bet." Naomi went on. "You must think I'm weird now." It looked like she was about to start crying again.

"No, no, no!" Satoshi said quickly when he regained his ability to speak. "I don't think you're weird." Satoshi's view of that...subject were actually pretty neutral; he'd never really cared about it. But now that it was being thrown at him... "Uh..." Of all outcomes he'd predicted for tonight, this had to be the most absurd. He desperately wanted to say something to calm her down, but couldn't think or anything. He could only watch hopelessly when she started crying again.

_Idiot! Say something! _But this time his willpower wasn't enough to get him to act. He just sat there and watched the girl he loved sob. How was he supposed to respond to that? How? On an impulse, Satoshi stood up. Then he quickly realized what that might look like and sat down. He was actually in a state of _panic. _

And in was apparently in that panic where the sudden idea came for him to just reach over, grab her, and pull her into a hug. It made her stop crying, and that made Satoshi stop panicking. Satoshi still wasn't sure what to think of her admission, but he was certain about one thing. "I still care about you." He told her. "I don't think you're weird."

She'd stiffened when he grabbed her, but at his words she relaxed. And then she returned the hug and squeezed with all her strength. "You really don't think so?" She asked. Satoshi wasn't sure what he thought of it. But he was distressed because she was, and he was acting on that alone.

"No, I don't." Satoshi assured her. "Keep talking." Naomi didn't lean back to speak his time, but still held on to him. After a moment, she continued her explanation.

"It's just... really confusing to me. It's been bugging me ever since we got back." She told him. "I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have led you on like this." Her voice rose. "I've always liked you and I still do, but I just can't right now." She started crying again. "I can't."

And so there was the full situation: She loved him, yet didn't want to be with him because she was confused about her feelings for Shinohara. That was how it was, and again Satoshi had absolutely no idea how he felt about it. He'd been shocked past his ability to think.

"Ok." Satoshi confirmed he heard her. "I understand." He understood, he just didn't know what he thought about it.

"I'm not saying never." Naomi said quickly. "Just not now." That caused a flicker in Satoshi's otherwise blank mind. "Just wait. Please don't be mad at me. I don't want to lose another friend." That was enough to again jerk Satoshi back to full awareness, because he knew what he thought on that subject.

"I'm not going to stop being your friend." He said quickly. "Ever." He realized he had to say something, or else they'd get no where. "This is something Heavenly Host caused, and I'll help you with it no matter what or how long it takes." Although this problem struck him a lot more personally then any other.

"Thank you... thank you." Naomi tried again to squeeze the life out of him. When she finally let go of him, his coat was thoroughly soaked on both sides. The two of them became aware that the fireworks were still going on above them. A moment after that, they realized they were still on a date. And what a interesting date it had been. But it was getting late, and Satoshi felt like his head would explode if the surprises continued. It was time to wrap things up.

"Let me take you home." Satoshi offered his arm once more. "It's getting late and you probably have a lot to think about." She took it and they started walking.

"I'm sorry if I ruined our date." Naomi spoke up. Satoshi shook his head.

"No, you didn't. I was hoping we could talk about our problems. What's important is we make progress on those, so don't worry." Of course, he'd hope to resolve some of them, but he should've guessed it wouldn't be that easy.

The two of them walked through the streets in silence after that. Naomi was once again resting her head on his shoulder, and still looked happy. You could almost think it was earlier in the night, she was acting normal. But what she was doing conflicted with what she'd told him. It was all very strange to Satoshi. What happened next only further opposed what she'd told him previously.

"Satoshi?" She asked, not raising her head.

"Hmm?"

"What is it you like about me?" She wondered.

"Well..." Satoshi had to think for some time to figure out his answer. He'd realized he loved her, though he hadn't actually listed the reasons why. Love was easy to realize, but hard to explain, so Satoshi just said the first few things that came to mind. "You're nice. Err...You're loyal to your friends and you care about them. You're very pretty." She last one made her giggle. "Why... do you like me?" Satoshi asked.

Unlike him, Naomi already had her reasons. "You're nice. You don't go chasing after girls. You're modest. And you'll go really far for people you care about." She paused for a moment. "And you're really understanding." Satoshi would've rather not had that reminder. "There aren't many guys like you." She finished.

"There aren't many girls like you." Satoshi returned. Naomi just smiled in reply, not realizing how confused she'd made him. She's said she just wanted to stay friends for now...but friends didn't talk about things like that, did they? Well, Naomi clearly did, and Satoshi wasn't going to argue even though it _was _kind of painful.

Or maybe painful wasn't the right word. He wasn't exactly angry or upset. Just...confused still. The oddness or the situation seemed to leave him detached from everything. Although Heavenly Host had taken a while to sink in after they got back, so maybe it was the calm before the storm. But for the moment, he wasn't thinking too much.

Before he knew it, they were back at her house. It felt strangely cold when she finally let go of his arm. In spite of what had occurred, she managed a embarrassed smile. "I had a good time tonight."

"I'm glad." Satoshi nodded. You could feel the awkwardness in the air. Naomi looked down and seemed to realize it couldn't be ignored. Instead, she leaned forward and hugged him.

"I'm sorry." She repeated, this time in a normal voice. Satoshi didn't return the hug, but he answered her.

"No, I understand." For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to sound concerned or understanding, just bored. "You'll figure it out eventually." He felt Naomi flinch at his tone, and guilt started picking at him.

"Maybe in the future?" She suggested again. That was still a possibility; she hadn't completely shot him down. There was still a chance, and that did something to cheer him up.

"Yeah..." He returned the hug then. He wasn't going to be mad about it...but that didn't mean he would be indifferent either. After a moment, Naomi let go and stepped back.

"See you tomorrow at school?"

"Yeah. See you there." Satoshi nodded.

"Goodnight. And thank you again for taking me out."

"Goodnight, Naomi." He watched her turn, go through the gate, and walk up and into her house. For a few moments, he just stood there staring at where she'd disappeared. He wasn't sure why, and just shrugged it off.

Satoshi turned and started the walk back to his house. His mind was clouded the entire way, and was being supplemented by weariness as his mind and body realized how late it was.

It was just a little past 10 when Satoshi finally arrived back home. By then, the streets were noticeably less crowded, although by no means empty. Some couples would stay out well into tomorrow morning. Satoshi couldn't afford that; he had school tomorrow. So his intention was to go straight to bed. He didn't have much desire to do anything else, truthfully. Even though he hadn't had dinner yet he had no interest in food.

His mother was still up in the kitchen, predictably awaiting his return. Satoshi suspected she would've noticed something was off, so he avoided her, calling that he was home and that he was going straight to bed before heading upstairs. He knew she'd asked about the date at some point, but Satoshi wasn't really in the mood for coming up with something to say. In fact, he only wanted to sleep so he could wake up with the energy needed to confront the multiple problems plaguing his thoughts at that moment.

When he entered his room, he discovered Yuka was curled up on his bed in her pajamas, sleeping peacefully. She's probably waited for him to get back to pester him. Well, she was out of luck then, at least for tonight. That was something else Satoshi would have to do: figure out how to explain to his naïve little sister why things weren't wrong, but at the same time weren't quite right.

After he'd carried her into her own room and put her in bed, he returned to his own room. He shrugged out of his coat and kicked off his shoes before crawling into bed dressed as he was. He sighed restlessly despite how comfortable his bed felt.

It seemed like there was always a new worry as soon as he thought he had resolved one. Where did it end? Even worse, this was a problem that had hit him personally.

Or was it a problem? He'd confessed, and she had too. But nothing had changed between them. And it had only illustrated how far Naomi had to go on her road to recovery. And that this was only something she could face.

Satoshi sighed again. It was all too much to think about for the moment. He let sleep take him, casually dismissing all worry despite its seriousness.

XX A/N XX

Happy New Years folks. Let's hope 2015 is a good year for the category. We have maybe 5 chapters left before the end, plenty of time still for a resolution.


	17. December 25th

XX A/N XX

I am terrible at keeping self-imposed update schedules; I got few new games for Christmas and can't put them down. But we're close to the end and I do intend to finish before I head back to University for the spring semester. Also, a celebration for having reached over 2000 views. (3000 technically, but 1000 of those are on the first chapter so I only count 14% of them).

X December 25th X

Satoshi woke up on Christmas day, for a lack of a better phrase, feeling like crap. And that was before he remembered what had happened last night. But he did feel something at last: regret. He sighed and slapped a hand to his face. _She was so upset. I probably could've said more to make her at ease. _He sat up and shut his alarm clock off. _What a mess to think about._

That was as far as Satoshi's thoughts got on that subject, because at that moment Yuka barged in. "Big Brother!" She jumped onto his bed and faced him, looking alert despite the early hour. "You were gone too long!" She whined. "Why didn't you wake me up?!" She demanded. "How did it go?" And just like that she was back to being a happy child.

"..." Satoshi still hadn't time to think about it, so he had no response. "Don't ask, Yuka." He swung his legs of the bed and got up. He felt Yuka watching him leave. When he got back from the bathroom, she was still sitting on her knees on his bed and frowning at him. He ignored her still. Yuka wasn't use to being ignored, but she clearly realized he didn't want to be bothered and retreated back to her room.

Breakfast was a similar affair. Yuka was already subdued from his earlier behavior, so they noticed both of them. Satoshi caught both of them glancing at the emotionless and quiet way he ate breakfast; he was just going through the motions. They probably all thought the date had gone wrong and he was just moping. There was a partial truth to that. Satoshi was glad they were giving him space about it.

"Big Brother?" Predictably, Yuka tried to bring it up again as they walked to school, although more indirectly this time. "Is something the matter?"

"No, Yuka." He answered. _Not yet anyway._

"Then why do you look so upset?" She asked.

"I not Yuka." He lied. "I'm just tired because I was up late." He yawned to prove how restless he was. Yuka seemed relieved to hear, although her naivety only poured salt in the wound.

"Oh! Did you and Naomi have fun?" She asked. Her excitement and smile faded when she noticed the uninterested look on Satoshi's face. "Big Brother?"

"Yuka." Satoshi wasn't a mean person, so he tried to get her to stop without showing how much she was annoying him. "I'm just not in the mood to talk, ok?" Satoshi still just wanted somewhere where he could sit and think in private. He'd yet to have a chance for that, and until he did, it wouldn't stop bothering him.

"Ok." Yuka acknowledged quietly, and the rest of the walk was spent in silence. Part of him realized he'd feel bad for doing that later, but for now he was still running half-aware.

He dropped Yuka off at the school gate and headed for class 2-9. It occurred to him, for the first time, Naomi would be there. The thought made him stop in the middle of the hallway, which in turn ended up with more then a few people knocking into him. After a moment, he continued on. Why should he worry? They were still friends, Naomi had made that much clear.

Except when he got to class, she wasn't there. Satoshi was surprised. She'd said she'd see him tomorrow, hadn't she? Yoshiki was there, but he didn't notice Satoshi poke his head in. The brunette turned back and waited outside in the hall. Maybe she was just running late that day or was in the bathroom? She might still show up.

But minutes later the bell rang and Naomi was no where to be seen. Satoshi sighed once he realized that. And then he did something else: he decided he'd skip first period that day and spend it lounging on the roof. It would be quiet and he'd he alone, just what he wanted right now. He could afford an absence or two, although his friends would be surprised.

The day was cold, but the sun was out and shining. Satoshi set his bag down and laid down in the sunlight, feeling mildly comfortable. He was finally by himself, and the only noise was just bustle from the city he could tune out. He could finally think, and maybe afterwards he wouldn't feel so miserable.

The first thing he did was recount everything he knew. So Naomi loved him too. That was great; just thinking about it actually made him blush. But on the other hand she didn't want to be in a relationship. And the reason for that was Shinohara: Naomi had thought there was something between them that she'd forever lost the chance to act upon.

When Satoshi recounted that, he realized that Naomi had just said she _thought_ there'd been something. She wasn't sure, she was only confused. That might've accounted for why she'd been so emotional about it; uncertainty certainly wracked ones mind. Love was a confusing subject on its own too.

_Love._ Satoshi could believe there might have been something between those two; more then once someone in their group of friends had pointed out how the two almost already did seem like a couple. They'd both insisted they were just really good friends, and they've might've believed it themselves. But now Naomi thought otherwise. The fact didn't both him too much; the subject as a whole wasn't really taboo or charged in Japan as it apparently was in the rest of the world.

Satoshi wondered for a moment if his problem was jealousness? She had said she wasn't interested in a relationship because she wasn't over someone else. That would make anyone jealous. But Satoshi had a hard time believing it when he'd always strived to as friendly as possible. Plus, Shinohara had been a nice enough person when you got past her odd personality quirks, and wasn't someone to envy.

So if it wasn't jealously, what was making him feel so down about the whole thing?

He still loved Naomi, of course. He's was worried especially now since she hadn't shown up to school. He pitied her; he could almost relate to the experience. Satoshi considered getting out his cell phone and calling her. Then he thought against it; he'd just confuse her more.

That wasn't something else he realized just then: She'd considered being with him some sort of guilty pleasure. She'd enjoyed spending time with him, but thought it wasn't right. The fact that he'd done that to her _did _make him depressed. But that was only one more emotion on his mind; what was the other?

Satoshi wasn't sure how long he sat there thinking, but eventually the access door was shoved open and a familiar agitated blond appeared with another familiar person standing behind him. "There you are!" Yoshiki spotted him.

"Big Brother!" Yuka saw him too. Satoshi sat up as they both stalked over. "You're missing school!" Yuka chided.

"You've missed 1st Period." Yoshiki informed him. "Your sister came to check because you were worried and freaked out because I haven't seen you today."

"It's scary here." Yuka added.

"So what the hell are you doing up here?" Yoshiki asked. Having been caught in any other time, Satoshi would've been a lot more embarrassed. Now? He shrugged.

"Thinking." He answered honestly.

"Big Brother, did something go wrong with Naomi? Is that why she wasn't here today?" Yuka asked. Yoshiki suddenly jumped.

"Wait, what? What happened?!" He demanded. Satoshi realized that neither of them would leave him alone till he told them. Well, he reflected, they'd learn eventually, so he might as well tell them now before they got the wrong idea.

"She said she wasn't interested in a relationship and wanted to stay friends." Satoshi revealed without emotion. Yuka grasped and covered her mouth. Yoshiki slapped a hand to his face and turned around. Had they been watching the show that much?

"Go on back to class before the bell rings." Yoshiki suggested to Yuka. "I'll talk to him." Yuka looked unsure at first, but nodded. She had no expertise on this subject. After she'd left, Yoshiki slumped down on the ground beside Satoshi. "You seem calm about it." He commented. Satoshi shrugged again.

"I'm not really sure how I feel about it yet." He admitted.

"So what happened?" Yoshiki asked. "Did you screw something up? Is that why Nakashima didn't show up today?"

"No." Satoshi paused for a moment. Maybe if he talked with someone else, he could figure out what was bothering him. On the other hand, maybe it would be rude to tell someone else what Naomi had said. He'd try and be vague at first. "We had a lot of fun, actually. I confessed how I felt about her and...she said she felt the same." Yoshiki raised an eyebrow.

"That's weird." He commented. "But congratulations."

"Thanks." Satoshi grinned, feeling just a little bit better. "She actually said maybe in the future...just not now. But even if things went that good...I just feel like crap for some reason about it." He admitted.

"What was the reason she turned you down?" Yoshiki asked, curious.

"There's...someone else she liked that she's still getting over." Satoshi answered. Yoshiki raised an eyebrow.

"Someone else?" He sounded disbelieving. "Are you sure she wasn't just making excuses? You're the only one she's ever looked at."

"I'm the only _boy_ she's ever looked at." Satoshi corrected him. The gears in Yoshiki's brain worked for a few moments before he leaned back, surprised.

"Are you talking about Shinohara?" He asked. Satoshi nodded, and Yoshiki just stared at him. It was one of the few things Satoshi had ever seen stun him.

"Naomi thinks Shinohara might've really liked her, and she her." Satoshi explained. "She's just really confused at the moment, so I'm not going to press her."

"That's uhh...Something." Yoshiki rubbed the side of his head. "Wait." Yoshiki held up a hand. When he spoke, he seemed to be addressing the air in front of him. "So you want to be with Nakashima, but can't because she's interested in someone else." Yoshiki stated that and was silent for a moment. Then he threw back his head and started laughing. He eventually fell over on his side, laughing so loud it almost drowned out the sound of the bell ringing for 2nd Period.

Satoshi wasn't sure if laughing was contagious or he just sound the sight funny, but he started laughing too. "What's...so...funny?" He gasped out between laughs. Yoshiki finally forced himself to stop and sat up, grinning.

"I just realized we're both in the same situation." He explained. Satoshi needed a minute to understand.

"You mean Shinozaki likes someone else?" Satoshi was surprised. "I never imagined that; we're the only people she hangs around with."

"Of course you didn't." Yoshiki shook his head. "But you still like Nakashima, right? You still want to be with her?"

"Yeah." Satoshi confirmed. "And I'm still worried about her."

"Then I think I know what your problem is." Yoshiki said with uncharacteristic confidence. "You're burnt out."

"Oh?" Satoshi waited for an explanation.

"Yeah. You've been doing so much and worrying and it hasn't worked as well as you hoped." Satoshi found himself nodding. He certainly had hoped things could've improved more then they had. "You're tired and worn out and wondering if it was worth the effort." Satoshi hadn't actually been wondering the last one, but the first two were certainly right. "You just don't have the energy to do anything else, right?"

"Actually, yeah." That was the most accurate guess yet. "Maybe you're right..."

"Of course I am. I've been in the same spot plenty of times." Yoshiki still sounded confident, not surprising if he did have experience.

"Shinozaki?" Satoshi guessed. His friend nodded. "That's rough." Satoshi didn't wish his current feeling on anyone, let alone a friend. Yoshiki just shrugged again.

"Hey, I see it like a test. If you're still interested in her even after, it means you really do like her. But that's not where I'm getting." He put a hand on Satoshi's shoulder. "I think the problem is you're trying to fix everything yourself. You're a good guy, Satoshi, but you can't fix everything; some things we just have to figure out ourselves. So just relax in the meantime. Nakashima will decide eventually."

"...I guess you're right." Satoshi acknowledged. His first thought that morning had been regret. But had he said something different, would Naomi have really been any less confused? This was about her feelings, something only she knew. He couldn't do anything about it. But still... "Girls are hard to understand." That made his friend laugh.

"You don't have to tell me." Yoshiki nodded. "But yeah, don't beat yourself up over it." He stood up grabbed Satoshi's arm to pull him up. Satoshi took a moment to brush the dusk off his back. "Let's head back." Satoshi nodded agreement.

"Oh, and thanks for the CD player." Yoshiki added as they walked, pulling the object out of his pocket. Satoshi was confused for a moment till he remembered: He'd bought stuff to give his friends on Christmas. In his mood, he'd completely forgot about it. To say he was embarrassed would be the biggest understatement of that year. But Yoshiki just laughed.

"I don't mind." He shook his head. "Like I said, I know how you feel. You're lucky your sister remembered and brought it." He tucked it back in his pocket. "Here." He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Satoshi: a gift card for a computer store. "Your sister gave me the idea for that, said you'd appreciate it."

"Thanks." Satoshi smiled and tucked it into his pocket. He did spend a lot of time on his computer actually, but mostly for school work. Still, maybe he could get it a performance checkup or something. "And thanks for the pep talk." Yoshiki gave him a rough pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, you can't do everything yourself." He changed the subject. "I'll text Nakashima about if she's coming or not tomorrow. You and Yuka are still coming to visit Shinozaki, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Satoshi confirmed. That had also slipped his mind, but luckily they'd planned it out days before. "And thanks." Satoshi thought for a moment. "I think you got a pretty good chance with Shinozaki now. Whoever the other guy is, he can't possibly understand what she's been through." Yoshiki failed to stifle a laugh. "What?"

"Nothing." Yoshiki shook his head. "Let's just get back to class." The rest of the school day was boring. Satoshi kept in mind what Yoshiki said throughout though. He _had_ done a lot, but worrying about everything wasn't going to do anyone any good. He could feel good about what he had done in the mean time.

Still, that didn't keep his thoughts from drifting to Naomi. He couldn't stop worrying about her. He hated it that she was clearly suffering, and it was painful to admit there wasn't anything he could do. But it was reality, and he had an easier time accepting it when he approached it from that angle. He'd have to wait. And he was willing to wait because he loved her. And maybe someday, perhaps even someday soon, things would improve. Someday, just not today.

Satoshi did wonder what he could do in the meantime though. Yoshiki and Yuka seemed to be getting along in life just fine as it was, and Shinozaki wasn't awake yet. He supposed that meant waiting was the only remaining option...but after having made so much progress this month he was restless and didn't want to stop.

The next few days were going to be hard to get through.

Well, the days after today anyway. It was hard to go through Christmas day in a negative mood. And with the day's earlier conversation in mind, Satoshi was back in a positive mindset once school let out. Judging by how tight she hugged him that day, Yuka was certainly happy to see him back in a good mood. Looking back, Satoshi felt a little stupid for being that way.

"Big Brother, is everything okay now?" Yuka asked before they'd even left the street the Academy was on.

"Kind of." Satoshi couldn't even lie to himself about that. "But I'll be fine. Naomi just has something she has to do on her own. She doesn't hate us, so don't worry." Yuka beamed, satisfied. "So are you happy it's Christmas?" Satoshi changed the subject.

"Yeah!" Yuka nodded vigorously.

"Oh, so that's why you went searching for your present early?" He guessed. Yuka went bright red at being called out.

"I d-didn't peak." She blustered. "I just got the one meant for Yoshiki. I didn't look at mine!" She insisted. Satoshi found her too funny to be mad at.

"We're visiting Shinozaki tomorrow after school." Satoshi reminded her. "So make sure you bring the gift you got for her." Satoshi wasn't sure what Yuka had gotten; she'd kept it hidden. Given how close she and Naomi were already, Satoshi could imagine her and Shinozaki would already be on personal terms and gift was some secret 'girl thing'.

"It's already wrapped." Yuka nodded. Satoshi still had to wrap what he'd gotten for her, but he could do that tonight after dinner.

"We're home!" Yuka shouted after they arrived and darted up to her room. Satoshi followed at a slower pace, waiting to see if their mom would approach him again. But she didn't. Satoshi dropped his stuff in his room before coming back down. He'd have to talk to her anyway to remind her they would be gone tomorrow evening, so there was still the chance.

"Hey, mom." Satoshi met her in the laundry room. "Just wanted to remind you Yuka and me will be visiting our friend in the hospital after school."

"Ok." She confirmed she heard him. "Just come back this time." She was focused on her task at hand rather then him.

"Will do." Satoshi nodded; the weather was just going to be cold for the next week, no snow. He turned to leave.

"And Satoshi?" He paused. "We saved some Christmas cake for you last night." She told him.

"Oh...thanks." Satoshi had expected another talk. He was safe for now. He did decide to go to the kitchen and look. Christmas cake, sponge cake frosted with whip cream and decorated with fruits or toppings, was something families in Japan usually ate on Christmas Eve. Though since he'd been out last night, he'd missed this year. But he was glad they'd saved him some.

The rest of Christmas Day went well. Dinner was always a favorite affair because it was a chance to eat foreign food. Fired chicken had become a tradition Christmas dinner in Japan, and as far as they knew it was the same all over the world. And that evening as all four members of the family sat around eating, Satoshi realized this was the best things had been ever since Yuka and him had come back from Heavenly Host. Everyone was talking, everyone was happy, and their parents no longer regarded them with worry.

And then came, or at least for Yuka, came presents. Usually that ritual ending when youths became old enough to not believe in Santa. Yuka was the exception though; their parents got her something and Satoshi always had as well. This year from their parents, yet another stuffed animal, which got Yuka to squeal in happiness. Like Satoshi, they'd chosen the sure route, not that he could blame them.

Satoshi wasn't sure if Yuka actually had looked at her gift, but she seemed happy and unsure enough when he gave the box to her. Satoshi wasn't sure which part confused their parents more: that he got her something like shoes, that she seemed more excited from that then their gift, or how profusely she thanks him for them. After completing a thank you hug, she said she had something for him in return and ran to her room to get it.

As it had a tendency to do during uneventful periods, Satoshi's mind ended up drifting to Naomi. He wondered if their talk about Shinohara had upset her again and if she was locked in her room again. Was she and her mother having a good Christmas? He couldn't possibly know, but he couldn't help but worry.

Yuka hurried back down with something clasped behind her back. "Merry Christmas!" She said before holding it out at his face.

"More beads?" Satoshi accepted them. Yuka smiled and nodded.

"They give you good luck." She explained. Satoshi smiled and patted her on the head.

"Thanks, Yuka. I'll carry it around with me from now on." Satoshi promised. She looked overjoyed. Actually, all four members of the Mochida household seemed to have enjoyed the evening of Christmas Day more than usual. Their parents because their son and daughter finally seemed to have recovered from whatever mysterious tragedy they experienced, and the son and daughter in question because they were taking part in a ritual as normal and assuring as anything they'd experienced since returning.

It was only a temporary joy. But Satoshi enjoyed it regardless. Hopefully one day it wouldn't just be temporary, but last forever. He still had hope for that.


	18. December 26th I

XX A/N XX

The brain is both a friend and an enemy. I rewrote this chapter five damn times because I was convinced it wasn't good enough- I've never written romance like this. So I apologize for the horrendously long wait. I really do hate how late this project has run. If I'd kept on schedule, I might've even done something for Valentine's day too (Japan's unique version of it). But alas, that no longer seems possible.

X December 26th X

Naomi didn't show up to school that day either. It made Satoshi extremely worried and inattentive for the day's duration. Like yesterday, he held out the hope she was late or in the bathroom or something even after the bell rang. But as 1st Period ended, Satoshi realized she wasn't going to arrive. The fact made him feel depressed.

Sure he would wait for her to make up her mind. But he still wanted to see her. Hear her. Know she was okay. If she stayed cooped up at home all day, they had no way of knowing how she was. Her mental health was still poor, and that was what worried him the most.

"You texted Naomi yesterday, right? _Right_?" Satoshi started interrogating Yoshiki in the middle of 2nd Period.

"Yeah, yeah." Yoshiki recoiled slightly. "She said she remembered and that she'd show up. Calm down, Satoshi. I'm sure she's fine. Sometimes girls need space." That calmed Satoshi. For about fifteen minutes.

He was worried for the very same reasons he had been before their intervention, but for some reason that worry was much more pronounced. It made sense when one considered that now all the progress they'd made was at risk now as well. And maybe Satoshi cared about Naomi even more now then he had before; not being able to have something only made you desire it more.

Around mid-day, Satoshi was looking at the clock ever few seconds and trying to urge it along. The sooner school was over, the sooner they'd get to the hospital, and the sooner he'd get to see Naomi. If she showed up, that was. But surely she wouldn't blow off the other two and especially Shinozaki just because he was there?

After what seemed to be an excruciatingly long day, the bell for dismissal finally rang. Satoshi had barely taken in a quarter of what had been said during lessons and more than once their T.A called him out on not paying attention. Satoshi didn't care at the moment though; he just wanted to get going.

"Jeez." After the full day, Yoshiki seemed to be becoming annoyed. "You need to relax." Seeing that he was grating on his friend's nerves, Satoshi stopped showing his restlessness.

"Sorry." Satoshi shook his head. Now that he thought about it, he was acting ridiculous. It made him embarrassed.

"Hey," Yoshiki patted him on the shoulder. "I know it hurts, but acting up is just going to blow your chances." He advised.

"You deal with this everyday?" Satoshi couldn't believe it. "How?" Satoshi couldn't imagine going through every day like this. Yoshiki just shrugged.

"I don't panic because I know I still have a chance." He explained. "You're practically guaranteed to be with her later, so you don't even have a reason."

"Ah...I guess." Satoshi admitted sheepishly as they stopped near the Academy gates to wait for Yuka. "You must really like Shinozaki if you've been doing this all along." Satoshi had always know Yoshiki had an interest in the class rep, just not how much fruitless effort he'd put into it. His friend scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

"She's difficult sometimes... but she's a really nice girl when she's in control of a situation- always looking out for everyone. I guess that's why I like her."

"Yeah." Satoshi agreed. "The class rep feels like she has to care about everyone. She'll probably get right back to it once she's out of the hospital."

"No kidding." Yoshiki looked like that was one part he _didn't_ look forward too. "Hmm? What's that?" He looked out to the street.

"Huh?" Satoshi followed his gaze. Distracted and with his back turn, Satoshi didn't see Yuka coming this time.

"Big Brother!" She knocked into him with enough force to make him fall over.

"Gah!" Satoshi hit the ground, taking Yuka with him. Luckily for her, his body cushioned the fall.

""Big Brother!" She gasped, quickly scrambling back up. Yoshiki was laughing hysterically and a few passers by laughed too.

"Very funny, Yoshiki." Satoshi got back up. "How long were you planning that one?"

"Just today." He stepped aside when Satoshi made a swipe at him.

"I'll get you back for that."

"As long as you're thinking of something else." Yoshiki waved off the threat.

"Fine, point taken." Satoshi laughed and dusted himself off. "I'm alright, Yuka. We all ready to go? Everyone has their gifts?" He asked his companions. Satoshi had tucked his in his bag this morning, along with the remaining friendship ring. Just in case.

"Yep." Yoshiki nodded, pointing to his overstuffed backpack. They both noticed Yuka glancing around. "Nakashima will meet us there." Yoshiki added, and Satoshi was glad his friend had saved him that task.

"Oh." Yuka nodded and checked her bag. "Ok. Ready!" She nodded. They started their walk to the hospital. Yoshiki, having made this journey many times this month, led them.

"Is Ayumi getting better?" Yuka asked Yoshiki as they walked. "Big Brother says he hasn't gone to see her."

"Eh, they don't tell me." Yoshiki admitted. "Her parents don't want to talk to me either. But she isn't in the emergency room still, so she must've gotten better. They still got to change her bandages every day though, and she's still unconscious, so I guess she isn't _that_ better."

"Well...maybe she will be after we visit!" Yuka suggested optimistically. Yoshiki chuckled.

"A good heart must run in your guy's family." He commented. Yuka giggled in response.

"We're just trying to stay positive." Satoshi mumbled in embarrassment.

"Well, keep doing that. Cause it seems to be helping everyone." Yoshiki told them. They paused at a crosswalk. "The hospital is seven blocks that way." He pointed to their right. It was a long journey. Back in November, the two boys had ran the entire way there from much further even though it had left them both heaving. But since circumstances were different, and Yuka was present, they weren't in as much of a hurry.

The arrived at the hospital at just past 4:30 in the afternoon. While Yoshiki went to the desk to get them checked in as visitors, Yuka sat down to rest her sore feet. She hadn't broken into her new shoes quickly, so walking got painful after a while. Satoshi, meanwhile, glanced around the lobby, hoping to see Naomi. But she wasn't there. Satoshi sighed; he'd hoped she would've been waiting for them.

"Satoshi!" Yoshiki came back. "They need to see both your before they let you in. But I already checked in, and it turns out Naomi checked in earlier."

"S-she did?!" Satoshi stuttered, surprised.

"Yeah, she checked in two hours ago." Yoshiki explained. "Hasn't left yet though. Probably waiting for us." Yoshiki noticed Satoshi's face pale and the slight tremor in his friend's hand. "Calm down. Remember what I said? It'll only go wrong if you make it."

"R-right." Satoshi tried to control himself. But he was still worried. How did Naomi look? How would she react if she saw him again? He had to try very hard to keep his mind from playing out the worst possible conclusion. But it couldn't possibly turn out too bad. That thought in mind, Satoshi managed to walk to the reception desk and show his I.D without fainting. After Yuka showed hers, they were allowed in.

"She's in room 224." Yoshiki told them and pointed to the elevators. By now, he probably could've made his way to that room blindfolded. To the other's slight amusement, they actually had to move faster to keep up with Yoshiki. As they walked along the hallway though, Satoshi's eyes were darted nervously from side to side, trying to spot Naomi. Maybe she was already in Shinozaki's room?

"There." Yoshiki spotted the door before either of the others and knocked on it a few times.

"Come in." A familiar voice called, and Satoshi felt his legs lock up.

"Naomi!" Yuka recognized the voice too. "Come on, Big Brother!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him on with surprising strength. Satoshi was dragged unwilling into the patient room. It wasn't a big room. There was a small bathroom to the right of the entrance before the room opened up, and the patient bed was supposed to be hidden right around the corner. Yoshiki was standing against the wall opposite of the bed. And beside the bed, against the wall, was a couch for visitors. And Naomi was sitting right there.

Satoshi was surprised to see she was actually wearing her school uniform. It looked freshly clean too. Had she originally planned on going to school that day? Actually, she looked perfectly fine. She seemed to look even healthier then she had the last time Satoshi saw her. Instantly, he felt all his worry slip away. She was confused, but she wasn't damaging her health anymore. He was glad.

"Naomi!" Yuka let go of Satoshi's hand and rushed to meet her, jumping into her lap.

"Yuka, Kishinuma, Satoshi." Naomi smiled and looked at all of them. Satoshi felt his heart leap a bit when she looked at him, eyes brighta and happy. "For once you boys aren't late!"

_She's acting so friendly._ Satoshi realized. Well, she had said she wanted to stay friends. Satoshi was glad that she was actually doing it too. So what was this disappointment he felt at the same time? The others were oblivious to his conflicted feelings.

"Like we would be." Yoshiki snorted, and then looked at Satoshi. "Are you going to close the door or what?"

"Huh, oh." Satoshi remembered there was someone other then Naomi here. "Right..." Satoshi closed the door behind him and walked further into the room, where the patient's bed came into view. "Oh..." Satoshi exhaled when he finally saw Shinozaki for the first time in well over a month. Yuka, sitting comfortably on Naomi's lap, looked at Ayumi in a mix of fearfulness and curiosity.

"Yeah..." Yoshiki had been here enough times that Shinozaki's appearance didn't faze him. There wasn't much to see, actually, since a sheet covered up most of her. But even that was a bad sign: it showed how thin she was. Her arms though, wrapped thickly in white bandages and corrected to several tubes, were still visible. Her face was pale, but she still looked as if she was sleeping peacefully.

"And she hasn't woken up yet?" Satoshi wondered as he went to join the girls on the couch. "It was just blood loss, wasn't it?" Naomi's grisly recollection of the account had said it was just saw blades that had injured Shinozaki.

"At first." Yoshiki nodded. "But it's a shock induced coma."

"Oh." Satoshi looked back at his sleeping friend. "That explains it I guess..." He turned to Naomi. "Were you here this whole time waiting for us?"

"Yeah." Naomi nodded, still looking at Shinozaki. "I never came to visit her before... so I wanted to come early and say some things." Naomi looked back up at them. "I think she can still hear us, even if she isn't awake."

"I think so too." Yoshiki nodded. "That thing tracking her heartbeat? I've seen it jump once or twice when I was talking."

"Hi Ayumi!" Yuka tried for herself. Nothing. "Aww."

"She looks so peaceful." Naomi went on.

"Yeah. And since she's been getting better every day, she's bound to wake up sooner or later." Yoshiki said confidently.

"Hopefully." Satoshi nodded. Once Shinozaki was awake, things were start taking a lot of steps in the right direction. Odds were she'd take charge again too.

"So did you all get something for her too?" Naomi changed the subject and pointed to the table beside the bed where a little wrapped box was sitting.

"Yeah." Yuka nodded excitedly and pulled out the brightly wrapped present she'd brought and got up to put it on the table. Satoshi pulled out his own gift and set it besides the girls'. Yoshiki had a harder time. He seemed to have had to stuff the entire bag in and was having trouble pulling it back out. When he did though, they were surprised he'd fit the bulging thing in his school bag in the first place.

"Wow, Kishinuma, you really went all out for Shinozaki, didn't you?" Naomi giggled.

"He did." Satoshi confirmed, seeing his first chance for revenge. "He really likes-"

"Oh shut up." Yoshiki cut him off. The other three just laughed. "They'll probably keep her for a few weeks after she wakes up anyway, so we might as well make sure she has plenty to do." He sat the overstuffed bag alongside the rest of the gifts and looked around awkwardly for a moment.

"You going to say something to her?" Naomi teased. Yoshiki shook his head a little too quickly and went back to stand where he had been, giving the others a reason to laugh again. Yoshiki was too flustered, so Naomi went ahead and said it. "We all came to visit you for Christmas, see? I hope you don't mind that we're late."

"Yeah...we were busy." Satoshi apologized. It didn't actually feel weird to be addressing Shinozaki, even if she was lying there without response. She was right there, and surely part of her was still conscious? It wouldn't be the most outlandish thing they believed.

"We got you gifts." Yuka added, pointing. "We hope you like them."

"Yoshiki got you plenty of stuff." Satoshi laughed.

"Shut up." Yoshiki muttered quietly then finally said something. "But yeah, Shinozaki, we miss you. We hope you'll be back with us soon."

"Right." Satoshi agreed.

"Yeah!" Yuka nodded. Naomi smiled and nodded too. Shinozaki was still peacefully asleep. Satoshi wondered what it was like for her. Was she plagued by nightmares like they still were? Was she aware enough to be thinking about what had happened and, hopefully, how to avoid repeating it? Or was she just happy that they were all here?

After that, the next hour played out similar to when they'd gone to Naomi's house on the 22nd. The ball had started rolling after Naomi joked that she hoped Shinozaki came back soon because she'd always made sure 'these two' weren't lazy. And from there they all started talking about what impact Shinozaki had had in their everyday lives before the disaster and even for a few days after and how they missed it.

But unlike Shinohara's birthday, there was no despair over the fact the memories would never repeat. Shinozaki was right in front of them, still alive, and surely listening. Satoshi could understand now why Yoshiki came to visit her so often. Shinohara had been a nagging doubt in the back of Satoshi's mind and he'd often find himself wondering just how badly she'd been hurt. But actually seeing her for the first time in a while... it put his mind at ease to see her clearly alive and mostly uninjured.

These recollections were only cut short when their stomachs started rumbling and they realized it was just past six- about dinner time. None of them realized just how long they'd been there, and there was surprised exclamations when they looked at the clock.

"Oh." Naomi seemed more then surprised. "I told my mom I wouldn't be here too long." She suddenly seemed worried.

"Is something wrong?" Satoshi asked instinctively.

"My mom stopped forcing to take medicine... but she's still kind of against me going anywhere but school." She shifted Yuka off her lap and stood up. "I- I better call her to come pick me up. Bye guys. I'll see you all tomorrow." She headed out into the hallway. Satoshi felt his mood drop as she left.

They'd all fallen into a comfort zone. She had been smiling, laughing, and teasing just like the old Naomi. That was what Satoshi had always wanted to see since they got back, and for just that short while it had been there and he'd been happy. And then reality had come crashing back down. That seemed to be becoming the new norm in his life, just like success had been everyday before the 24th.

"Big Brother?" Yuka had scooted over next to him. "I'm hungry, and mom will be making dinner around now." Satoshi remembered he'd also said he'd try not to mope. This had been a good experience for them. He should focus on that.

"Alright. I guess we better start heading back." Satoshi stood up and stretched a little bit. "Are you staying?" He asked Yoshiki. His friend nodded.

"Yeah. But thanks for coming."

"Of course. See you in school tomorrow?"

"Right." Yoshiki nodded. "See you there." Before they left though, Satoshi said goodbye to his other friend too.

"Shinozaki... We hope to see you at school again soon." Again, no response. But he was confident she was still listening.

"Stay safe." Yoshiki waved at them as they left too. Odds were he'd be here for a few more hours still. Were it not for the job he needed to sustain himself, he might've stayed there everyday. Satoshi thought for a moment if their situations were similar; He'd only realized how much he cared about Naomi after nearly losing her. The same thing had probably happened with Yoshiki after Shinozaki was injured.

If so, Satoshi hoped his friend wouldn't have nearly as much trouble as he had already.

The intention had been just to head for the exit and start walking, and they both took the elevator to the lobby and were about to leave. But they both had to stop when they both saw Naomi leaning in a hallway corner and staring at her feet.

"Naomi?" Satoshi jogged over, Yuka not far behind him. She looked up as they approached.

"Are you okay?" Yuka asked it first. Naomi looked confused for just a moment.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm just waiting for my mom to show up. She wasn't that mad with me, luckily. I'm just waiting inside because of how chilly it is. Are you two leaving too?"

"We were...but we'll wait with you till your mom gets here if you'd like." Satoshi offered without thinking. "I mean... if you don't mind." He corrected quickly.

"I don't." She said quickly. "Actually, since you two are staying, why don't we go get something to eat while we wait?"

"Okay!" Yuka agreed. Satoshi had almost forgotten she was there, but she didn't seem to mind having been roped into this.

There was a small cafeteria on each floor of the hospital to serve visitors. At this time of day, it was only slightly crowded, but the trio did manage to find a table where they could sit by themselves away from other patrons. A box of juice was in each of their hands, and there'd been some bread for sale too. Yuka had tried to convince Satoshi to buy her some sweets, but he'd steadfast refused, worried more what his mother would do if she found out then Yuka's increasingly insistent pleads.

"Naomi? You still don't feel guilty about what happened with Shinozaki, right?" Satoshi asked as they were seated and eating. He'd been wondering why Naomi had left them and then waited on the ground level instead of just waiting with them, and his first guess was she felt guilty.

"..." She ate her bread without responding for a short while before answering. "No. I'm glad I managed to save her life."

"We all are." Satoshi said quickly. Naomi nodded in acknowledgement, and seemed to have realized what he was asking.

"But it still scares me when I see her. Everything about that situation was evil, yet we still did it." She shuddered, something the others did as well. Yuka inched a few spaces down. She hadn't liked hearing this the first time, and she didn't want to hear it now either.

"But it's over." Satoshi reminded her. "All of it is over and it isn't going to bother us again." Satoshi figured they were all having the same doubts about the class rep. "And we'll convince Shinozaki to make sure." He added. "All five us _will _be back to living normal lives, and we can't do that if we're still afraid." Satoshi watched her set down her bread and stare at the tabletop for a moment, pretty sure that she was thinking.

"Satoshi?" She asked in a tone he now recognized and dreaded. "You're really not upset with me, are you?" He hadn't expected the change of subject and couldn't understand why she'd bring that up. He didn't want to discuss it either; not in public and when Yuka was still in earshot.

"N-Naomi." He stuttered. "I already said I wasn't. Don't worry about it." There was extra plea in his voice. He'd barely gotten through the private version of this conversation. Doing it again in public would probably make him die of embarrassment. _Why did I offer to wait too?!_ He mentally slapped himself.

"Satoshi...I almost went to school today because I wanted to talk to you again." She looked up at him, making his face turn red. "I still do."

"Uh...Well, this... is kind of a bad place." His voice rose a few notes. "It's not very private, and-" Satoshi looked behind him to see if Yuka was still listening in, only to notice she'd scooted down even further from the pair, far out of earshot. When they locked eyes, Yuka got a stern look on her face and pointed back at him, or rather at the girl behind him. "Ehehe." Without anything to say, Satoshi laughed nervously.

"I've been thinking about it non-stop." Naomi had ignored his pleas and gone on. It could have been worse; the cafeteria really was empty and so far Naomi was talking in a calm and low voice. "I'm sure I loved Seiko... She was a big part of my life." Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Satoshi was surprised at how strongly she said it without hesitating or breaking down. "I just feel so alone without her here."

"We're all here." Satoshi reminded her. "Remember? And we always will be."

"I know." Naomi smiled for a brief moment. "But, I don't want to have just good friends."

"W-what?" Satoshi felt his mind lock up as hope and pure terror crashed inside of it. Was she going where he thought she was going with this conversation?

"Losing Seiko made me realize how much I want someone...close in my life." She blushed when she said it. "And... to help me get past this." It was around that time that Satoshi stopped breathing, the little spark of hope jumping around in his hammering chest making him hold his breath in anticipation. Could it really be happening? This soon?

_Something will go wrong._ Part of his mind warned. _No it won't._ The other argued, and that part won. If he just waited a little longer...

"And even though Seiko loved me, she... Satoshi?!" Naomi gasped. Since Satoshi had been holding his breath without realizing it, he didn't realize how blue his face was turning. "Satoshi!" She grabbed his shoulders and shook him, finally making him exhale. She watched him take a few gasping breaths before she burst out laughing. "You're such an idiot." She teased.

"Ah... ahhh..." What was getting into him? He was completely breaking down here. "I-I'm al-alright." He stuttered. "W-what w-w-were you saying?" He was talking like a complete idiot, but for some reason Naomi found it endearing. That helped calm him down and listen when she started talking again.

"Even though Seiko liked me...she was always pushing me to be with you." She admitted. It was enough to make Satoshi's face turn all the way red again. Naomi's own blush was getting progressively darker as well. "If I really loved Seiko, I'd carry out what she wanted, and she wanted me to be happy and with someone I loved, not alone...And...I want the same."

She reached out and grabbed his hands. The warmth and contact made Satoshi's breath get caught in his throat again. She looked so pretty, her eyes shining with hopefulness. Satoshi couldn't help himself. He grabbed her and pulled her close into a tight hug and started babbling.

"Naomi, I meant every word I said then. You're an amazing girl and I love you. Even after Heavenly Host I still love you. I swear I won't leave you alone, ever. Whatever you need. Whatever it takes to help you... I'll do it. Anything at all." He said it all with one breath. He no longer cared that they were in public. The only thing that mattered to him at that moment was the girl he was holding on to.

She was still for a moment, her arms at her side. Then she returned the hug with surprising strength. "...I'm glad." She choked out, and Satoshi felt what could only be tears of joy landing on his shoulder. "I'm so glad..." Satoshi patted her back comfortingly. She leaned back and then something even more shocking happened: she kissed him.

He hadn't expected it, but the warm sensation lulled him and he closed his eyes and just went with it. There was still a unsure world out there: Shinozaki still asleep, all their parents wondering what happened, and any other number of struggles to overcome. But at that blissful moment, holding her close, warm and tasting her sweet kiss, Satoshi couldn't remember a time anything ever seemed more right.

They broke apart after a few seconds, both their faces identical shades of red. "I always wanted to do that." Naomi admitted.

"Me too." Satoshi mumbled, feeling lightheaded. She'd kissed him! Only in his wildest dreams had that happened. But this was real, and he couldn't have been happier. Naomi smiled, looked past his shoulder, and brought up her hand to cover a giggle.

"I forgot we had an audience." Confused, Satoshi looked behind him and saw Yuka sitting with her knees up to her chest and hiding her face with her fingers stuck in her ears. But as far as he could tell, no one else had seen the display.

"Oh." Satoshi laughed nervously, wondering if he might've unintentionally traumatized her. But it was a worry that quickly disappeared as a far greater question took over his mind: What happened now? It was all but stated fact now that he and Naomi were together. Just the thought made him feel dizzy, but the good kind. There were so many possibilities now!

But before he could fathom some of them, his cell phone rang. The annoying sound knocked both love struck teenagers out of the trance they'd been sucked into.

"Oh." Naomi let go of him and stepped back, and the rest of the euphoria disappeared with her. "That's probably your mom wondering where you two are." They were firmly reminded then there was a world out there- one with curfews and school and other things.

"Ah, probably." Satoshi agreed, already missing the warm feeling. But surely there would always be time in the future? He pulled out his cell phone and held it up to his ear. "Hello?" Unexpectedly, the voice that answered was very much male.

"Satoshi!" Yoshiki yelled loud enough for his friend to hold the phone away in surprise and even for Naomi to hear. "Where are you at?!" Yoshiki demanded.

"Uh...the first floor." Satoshi was caught off guard by his tone. "We're waiting with Naomi for-"

"You're all still here?" Yoshiki interrupted. "You're all still in the hospital?"

"Yeah, why-"

"Then get your asses back up here!" Yoshiki cut him off again. "Shinozaki just woke up!"

XX A/N XX

Two miracles in one chapter! Well it is...was... the time for such occurrences. Again, I loath overruns.


	19. December 26th II

XX A/N XX

We've surpassed 5k views, it seems. Although again a thousand are on the 1st chapter, so its more like 4k. Still, I'd just like to thank everyone for reading and apologize for the continuing delay; college just started and between new classes and having to get up every morning at 5 for Company PT, I ain't been in a writing mood. Life is the greatest obstacle to a writer.

X December 26th X

"We'll be right there!" They needed no further encouragement. Both Satoshi and Naomi immediately made a dash back to the 2nd floor, grabbing Yuka along the way and taking the stairs when the elevator proved to be too slow for them.

"What happened?" Neither of Yuka's feet actually touched the ground as they hauled her up the steps, so needless to say she was a little bewildered.

"The class rep just woke up!" Naomi's voice, shrill with excitement, echoed painfully through the stairwell. They burst onto the second floor and kept running, ignoring several staff members yelling at them to slow down. The three of them only halted right outside Ayumi's room, where Yoshiki seemed to be having a vicious staring contest with the floor security guard.

"Oh, that was fast." Yoshiki turned to face them, and the snarl he'd had plastered on his face before hand faded. "They kicked me out." He grumbled, pointing at the security officer. "Since she just woke up, the doctors have to check on her."

"So we have to wait to see her?" Naomi asked, disappointed. Yoshiki gritted his teeth and nodded. It wasn't surprising, in fact it might have been necessarily important, but the Kisaragi students disliked it anyway. Any plans of leaving abruptly ended, the four of them took seats on a couch sitting at the end of the hall, right by a window that offered a great view of the lit up city in the evening.

Not that they were paying attention. Their focus was on the doctors and nurses entering and leaving the class rep's room. How much stuff did they have to check before they could see her? She had been healing pretty well, hadn't she? It was during that wait that Naomi's cell phone rang and her mother called impatiently wanting to know where she was.

"Our friend just woke up." Naomi explained. "I'm not leaving until we get a chance to see her." A moment's pause. "No!" And she hung up. The outburst had surprised her friends and even made some of the hospital staff glance in their direction. Yuka covered her mouth in shock while the boys stared at her determined expression in surprise and just a little bit of fear. How was her mother going to respond to that?

The answer was 'surprisingly well'; Naomi got a text shortly after in which her mom said she would let her stay another hour or two. Perhaps she was just as interested as the rest of them, since this re-opened the discussion over what had happened to the two girls. She wasn't the only one either. The teens spotted Ayumi's parents arriving and enter the room several minutes later.

"Ah damnit." Yoshiki scowled. It was obvious they'd get to see her first, and they had the right, but it upset them all even so.

"She must be so confused right now." Naomi thought out loud. "I hope they don't try and ask her what happened."

"I think they'll just be glad she's awake." Satoshi said. Naomi sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. Sitting on Satoshi's other side, Yuka watched with just a hint of red on her face. At the far end of the couch, Yoshiki didn't notice because he was staring towards the door to Shinozaki's room. Satoshi felt just a little awkward about it, but didn't object; her body heat and her hair brushing against his neck was a surprisingly great feeling.

Naomi wasn't the only one bound my a curfew though. Satoshi's cell phone rang half an hour later, the caller I.D saying it was from home. Satoshi sighed in frustration; he had no idea how his parents would react to this event twice. "Big Brother?" Yuka held her hand out, and Satoshi remembered she'd been the one to make their parents cave last time. Maybe she could do it again?

"Give it your best shot." Satoshi handed her the phone. It wasn't just for Shinozaki now- he wanted to stay till Naomi left as well. Last time Yuka had won through stubbornly not moving and eventually crying. Over the phone she had no such weapons, but through using a pleading tone and talking about how much she absolutely missed her friend, she won after five minutes.

"Hehehe." She giggled after she pulled the phone away from her face. "She wants to talk to you, Big Brother." She handed it back.

"Satoshi." Their mother spoke as soon as he put it to his ear. "We will be arriving at 10 o clock and you both will be leaving with us." She said sternly, making it clear this time not even Yuka could win them over completely.

"Got it." Satoshi agreed. That was three hours from now. Naomi would've left by then and hopefully they would've seen Shinozaki by then.

"Good." Mother's voice stayed stern though. "Since you're there, make sure Yuka gets something to eat. We'll pay you back whatever you spend."

"Ah, right." Satoshi agreed. Yuka must've overheard, because she stood up before Satoshi even finished the call and looked at him expectantly after he tucked his phone away. "I guess we're eating dinner here tonight." Satoshi couldn't just stand up though. "Naomi?" He nudged his friend (_girlfriend?_) since she seemed to have dozed off. "I'm going to go get Yuka something more to eat. Do you want to come too?"

"Hmm?" She sat up straight. "Sure." She must've actually dozed off, because she yawned just then. Was his shoulder that comfortable?

"Yoshiki?" Satoshi turned to his last friend, who was still fixated on the room down the hall. His question didn't seem to reach him, so Satoshi asked again with a tap on the shoulder for emphasis.

"Huh?" Yoshiki grunted, turning his scowl in their direction. Satoshi reared back a little.

"Uh...we're going to get dinner at the cafeteria here..." He explained. Yoshiki blinked and shrugged before standing up.

"Fine." He still looked agitated. "Might as well since they're taking so long." He glared in the direction of the room.

"Ehh- sometimes you just have to be patient?" Satoshi suggested and reared back when Yoshiki swung to face him again. But the glare on his friend's face receded.

"Heh. You're right." He conceded. "Alright then, I can relax for a bit." Having all agreed, they all started walking. They'd only taken a few steps when Naomi moved over and locked arms with Satoshi, just like they had on the 24th. Satoshi felt himself blush when she did. Outside of that day of the year, public displays of affection usually frowned upon in modern Japan.

But then he remembered how Naomi said she needed someone to support her through this, and he decided not to raise a fuss if she ever did stuff like that. She needed it. And odds were he wouldn't be able to refuse anything she wanted anyway. He let her be, and the only other person who noticed was a flustered Yuka holding on to his other arm.

The door to Shinozaki's room was closed shut as they passed it, and no sound came from within.

The cafeteria on that floor was virtually the same to the one below. The menu was very much the same, which was to say bland. The most complex thing they sold was salad, which suited the girls just fine. Satoshi's wallet...not so much. But he still had enough to buy himself more bread. Yoshiki, after rummaging through all his pockets, got some bread too and all four found a table to sit at.

"So if she's awake, how long till she goes back to school?" Yuka asked.

"I guess once she's fully healed." Yoshiki answered. He didn't seem very interested in his food. "I'd guess a week or two; her arms don't look too bad anymore."

"It'll be nice to have her back." Naomi smiled at the thought.

"Yeah." Satoshi agreed. "It's amazing that she woke up while we were all here."

"It's because she heard us." Naomi and Yuka said it at the same time, and both Satoshi and Yoshiki believed it. This was a happy occasion, and Satoshi wasn't sure things could go any better for them. Well, it was supposed to be going good for them all. Yoshiki still looked agitated in a stark contrast to the relieved smiles occupying the rest of their faces. He was even sitting an extra seat away from them. Was it still bothering him?

"Yoshiki?" Satoshi asked. "Is something wrong?" The blond jerked his head over towards them, and like last time his scowl was still there for a brief moment.

"...Nah." Yoshiki shook his head. "I'm just not good at following my own advice." He admitted. The girls had been watching the exchange, and seemed confused when Satoshi and Yoshiki nodded understanding at each other.

"It'll pay off." Satoshi reminded him.

"I know." Yoshiki took another bite of bread.

"So, Kishinuma." Naomi cut into the conversation. "You were there when she woke up?" Satoshi and Yuka looked at Yoshiki expectantly as well, realizing that Naomi had a point.

"Yeah..." He looked apprehensive suddenly. "It was kind of sudden. Her heartbeat suddenly sped up and she just sat up suddenly screaming." He scratched the back of his head. "I tried to calm her down till the staff showed up and forced me out." Was that why he was angry? He couldn't help her?

"Shinozaki..." Satoshi murmured. She must've been suffering from nightmares too. Yuka sadly shook her head and rubbed her eyes. Naomi looked crestfallen as well and stared at the ground.

"I hope they let us see her soon. She probably doesn't remember everything that happened..." Satoshi turned around to face her, and saw her shudder and shut her eyes. She'd broken down telling them about what happened, so it was no doubt still a traumatic memory.

"Naomi, you don't have to tell her if you don't want to." Satoshi assured her quickly.

"Hell, I'll do it." Yoshiki volunteered. "Don't stress Nakashima." She opened her eyes and looked at both of them, and she managed to smile again.

"Thanks..." She said. "I really don't want to tell it again if I can avoid it."

"You won't." Yoshiki assured. "If we ever get to see her, that is." He added with a growl. They went back to eating for a short while, and every now and then Yoshiki would get up and glance out into the hall towards Shinozaki's room before coming back and sitting down. About the third time, just after everyone had finished eating, he recoiled back quicker then usual and raced back to his seat.

They found out a moment later when Ayumi's mother entered the cafeteria and made straight for where they were sitting. It was easy to see which parent Shinozaki took after; they could tell it was her right away just by the hair color. The older woman's face was a mixture of relief and caution as she approached the table. Not surprising; she didn't really know any of them except Yoshiki, who Satoshi noticed was looking a lot more docile now.

"You're all Ayumi's friends?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am." Satoshi confirmed for them.

"And you all came to visit her?" She looked over them. Her eyes rested on Naomi for several noticeable seconds, causing the 17 year old to shrink back slightly. Satoshi felt her grip his arm rather tightly.

"Yes ma'am!" Yuka's cheery voice defused the rapidly building tension. Ayumi's mother couldn't help but smile at the small girl's cheeriness. Though next she looked over at Yoshiki, who was making a clear effort to look calm and collected. Mrs. Shinozaki's smile seem to widen just a bit before she addressed them all again.

"Ayumi's doing just fine." She assured them, and they all sighed in relief. "She said she thought she sensed her friends presence, and when I asked the hospital staff they said you were all here." The Kisaragi students exchanged glances, all of them seeming to share the same thought:

_So our words really did reach her. _

"I'm glad she hasn't been lonely, so thank you." Mrs. Shinozaki addressed that at all of them, even Naomi. "I bet you all want to see her again since she's awake?" They all nodded. "I'm not surprised." She smiled at them all again. "I'll have to convince my husband first though, so please, wait here. I promise I won't be long." She turned and left.

"Finally." Yoshiki let his outward demeanor fall and rolled his eyes. Yuka clapped her hands together excitedly. Satoshi was going to say 'good', but froze when he realized Naomi was still typing gripping his arm. When he turned to face her again, she was staring dejectedly at the tabletop.

"She must hate me." Naomi said out loud.

"Why would she?" Satoshi shook his head. "You're the one who saved her daughter!" Naomi blinked a few times and raised her head. "Don't always assume people hate you, Naomi. You said you wouldn't let your mind jump to the worst conclusions, didn't you?" He reminded her. She started blushing.

"Y-yeah." She admitted. "Sorry guys."

"Don't be." Satoshi shook his head, although he was secretly worried. How long would she be like that? He still dearly missed the old, forceful, and confident Naomi. It didn't change his affections at all, but he was always going to wonder... But Naomi looked to be better for the time being, so Satoshi tried to think of something else to distract them.

"Yoshiki." He addressed his friend. "You've met Shinozaki's parents before?" An unpleasant scowl once again occupied Yoshiki's face.

"Yeah." He grunted. "Her dad is a real pain in the ass." Then he paused for a moment and his face muscles relaxed some. "Her mom's not so bad. It's just that they both find it odd how much time I spend here. We don't talk much and I just leave whenever they show up."

"At least they'll know you when you finally ask her out." Naomi commented, and both her and Satoshi laughed when Yoshiki went red and tried to cover his face with his jacket.

"Shut up..." He muttered and Satoshi gave his mortified friend a pat on the shoulder.

Mrs. Shinozaki came back only a few minutes after leaving and Yoshiki had already stood up before she even reached their table. "I managed to convince him-" She started, and the rest of the Kisaragi students stood up before she finished. "-to let you all see her for a few minutes. I really am sorry that's all, but she is our daughter and we've been worried about her for a while."

"No, we understand." Yoshiki didn't sound mad. Even a few minutes would be okay if it meant they could see her. Mrs. Shinozaki smiled at their eagerness before leading them back to Shinozaki's room. They all had to actually slow their stride to avoid overtaking her. It had been over a month since they'd last seen Shinozaki; they really were eager.

And they couldn't just burst in to see her either, however much they wanted to. No, they had to contain the excitement and everything they'd wanted to say till a more opportune moment.

Mrs. Shinozaki entered the room first, and the others followed closely and calmly behind. From the small hallway, they could she Mr. Shinozaki sitting on the same couch they'd occupied just an hour ago. Shinozaki must've certainly got all her physical traits from her mother, because she didn't resemble the tall and wide man sitting there at all. Actually, she seemed to have inherited the sharp glare she usually got when she was angry; the one the man was giving the four teenagers certainly looked like Shinozaki's.

Why he was hostile to them was anyone's guess. Maybe he didn't trust Yoshiki? Or Naomi? Or maybe he was just being over protective. Whatever the motive, he was certainly effective at looking intimidating. Satoshi thought a greeting might break the ice, but the word wilted under the piercing stare. They'd just stepped into the room and the atmosphere seemed unbearable. That was, until Mrs. Shinozaki spoke.

"Ayumi." She turned her head as she passed the bed to the couch. "Your friends are here to see you!"

"Huh?" A familiar voice responded, and suddenly control wasn't important. They all just ran into the room.

"Shinozaki?" Satoshi and Yoshiki exclaimed at the same time.

"Class Rep?"

"Ayumi?" Yuka had almost gotten trampled when they all ran forward.

"Guys..." Shinozaki was still laying in the hospital bed and covered by sheets, but now her eyes were open. She raised her head up to see them. She was still pale and her eyes were cloudy, not focused like usual. But she was up.

"Class Rep..." Naomi's voice broke and she rushed forward to hug her. "You're awake!"

"Welcome back!" Yuka ran up to the other side of the bed. The two actions seem to bring Shinozaki out of her drowsiness for a few moments.

"Nakashima! Yuka!" She looked past at the boys standing in the middle of the room. "Mochida! Kishinuma!" Her eyes widened. "You- you all came to see me?" Some color returned to her face in the form of a blush.

"Of course." Satoshi looked over to see Yoshiki actually smiling. "You think we'd just forget about you?" The blond went on.

"I... I thought I heard everyone while I was out." Shinozaki seemed confused for a moment.

"We were here earlier." Satoshi told her. "We were talking to you. You must've heard us after all."

"Y-yeah." She blushed again and smiled. "Nakashima...?" The brunette had yet to stop hugging her.

"O-oh." Naomi let go and stepped back awkwardly with her hands held in front of her. "I'm just so glad you're okay." Naomi rubbed at her eyes, but seemed to be keeping her emotions under control. The two girls stared at each other. The smile faded from Ayumi's face, and her eyes became foggy again as the memories probably came rushing back to her.

Satoshi and Yoshiki both spared quick glances at Ayumi's parents, who couldn't see their daughter's face past her friends. Mrs. Shinozaki was smiling at the reunion. Mr. Shinozaki seemed to be scowling less...they thought. But is either of the girls broke down here and now, something very much possible, things would get awkward fast. Satoshi wouldn't be surprised if Shinozaki's parents were brought into the fold by either his parents or Naomi's mom now.

The teens couldn't talk freely now as long as they were there. They'd all have to meet up sometime in the future and talk. For now, they couldn't do much but talk about how glad they were to see her. But they'd wanted to do that for so long, it almost made up for not being able to do the latter.

"Yeah. We're all glad." Yoshiki confirmed. "We missed you, you know?"

"Yeah." Satoshi agreed, and Shinozaki blushed again. She wasn't use to people fawning over her, or being in a position of weakness. But at the same time she looked relieved by their presence. You could just feel in the air how much there was that they all wanted to say to each other... but couldn't because of the elder Shinozakis. In a way, it was an odd personification of their predicament: they were alone and isolated in that no one else understood, but together in that only they understood each other.

In the end, all they could do was exchange greetings and say how glad they were to have her back. But all of them knew there was a lot more to be said at a different time. But Shinozaki was awake, so there would be many more days, definitely. But they drew out their time as long as they could while they were there.

Yuka was starting to look tired, Shinozaki still looked very worn out, and they could all feel Mr. Shinozaki glaring holes in the back of their heads, so Satoshi was the first to suggest they wrap things up. "Guys? Maybe we should let Shinozaki rest some and come back another day?" Both Yoshiki and Naomi looked disappointed at the suggestion. But after a quick glance at the clock, Naomi decided he was right.

"It was great to see you after all this time." She told Shinozaki.

"You too, Nakashima." The class rep smiled despite how tired she looked.

"We'll all come back soon!" Yuka promised.

"Yeah. There's a whole lot to talk about." Yoshiki pointed out. The look of Shinozaki's face turned serious and she nodded. That was reassuring. Even if she'd just woke up, she already knew what was important and what needed to be done.

They showed themselves out after goodbyes were exchanged. Mrs. Shinozaki and Ayumi thanked them for visiting. Mr. Shinozaki nodded at them as they left, which they guessed was a good sign. But even if they'd forced out, it wouldn't have stopped the absolute joy they were feeling now at having seen their friend alive and awake.

"I'm so glad..." Naomi said as the four of them stood in the hallway.

"Yeah." Satoshi agreed. "Yoshiki?" The blond was still staring at the door.

"Huh?" He turned back to them. "Yeah, I'm glad. I just wish we could've got that stuff out of the way here and now. We'll have to find another time to visit her together. So are you guys going home?" He asked after a pause.

"Aren't you?" Naomi asked. Yoshiki shook his head.

"Eh, I'll stay for a few more hours." He explained. Satoshi and Naomi nodded, not all that surprised.

"Alright." Satoshi pulled out his phone and looked at the time- around eight thirty. "I better call our mom so we can get a ride."

"Me too." Naomi pulled out her own phone.

"I guess I'll wait with you guys." Yoshiki volunteered as they all made their way down to the ground reception area. Satoshi and Yuka's mother said she'd be there in about half an hour. Naomi's mother had said the same. So now all they could do is wait and talk.

"I wonder what her parents are going to say or do now that she's awake..." Naomi wonder. At this time of night, there weren't many people, so the four of them found a couch to sit on. Yoshiki sat at one end, Satoshi and Naomi in the middle, and Yuka was leaning against her brother's side and dozing off.

"They're already suspicious." Satoshi sighed. "Now that both our parents know Shinozaki is awake, they might try talking to her parents since they all know something is wrong."

"Sucks to be you guys." Yoshiki commented.

"I wish I hadn't worried my mother so much, or this might've never happened." Naomi sighed.

"We'll figure a way out of it somehow." Satoshi assured her. She smiled.

"I know. We always do."

"Somehow..." Yoshiki rubbed the back of his head. Yuka, not entirely asleep, hummed agreement. But, like Satoshi had been insisting to himself for the past month: all five of them were together, so surely it would work out?

"Hey." Yoshiki grabbed their attention again a few moments later. "Let's all meet up in school tomorrow and talk about what we're doing for Shinozaki. Might be hard with New Years coming up."

"Oh...yeah." Satoshi could tell the reminder jolted Naomi as well. They'd been so caught up in their own worries-each other- that they'd almost forgotten the two busiest and most important holidays in Japan: New Years Eve (Omisoka), and New Years itself. Both those holidays would be a obstacle if they wanted to see Shinozaki again or do something for her soon.

But that was something to consider tomorrow. For tonight, they were pleased with everything that had happened.

They'd been keeping a eye towards the front entrance for when one of their parents showed up, and as it turned out both of their rides showed up at the same time. Both Satoshi and Naomi's mothers entered the hospital at the same time, both in conversation. The teens were pretty sure they were the subject.

"Time to go." Satoshi shook Yuka's shoulder to wake her up. While he did that, Naomi stood up to meet both women as they made their way towards the group.

"Not with your friend?" Ms. Nakashima asked her daughter as they met.

"No. Her parents are with her." Naomi explained.

"Oh. I'd like to meet all three of them sometime." Ms. Nakashima went on. "But now would be a terrible time." Meanwhile, Satoshi's mother had walked over to give him a hand with Yuka, who was warm and comfortable enough that she didn't want to move.

"Yuka? Wake up dear." She finally roused her, allowing Satoshi to stand up. Naomi approached him while he stretched.

"Satoshi?" She asked, a blush creeping back onto her face.

"Hmm?" For some reason, he started blushing again too.

"I...m-meant everything I said earlier." She stuttered. "We should talk more tomorrow."

"Y-yeah!" Satoshi stuttered back. He hadn't forgotten about that; his mind had just been focused on Shinozaki waking up. But Naomi was right. Earlier had just been an outburst on her part she'd been holding in for days. There was still a lot for the two of them to talk about. "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." She agreed and reached out to hug him. "See you there." And she kissed him again- a little peck on the cheek this time- before turning to leave. Again, Satoshi was stunned for a brief moment, but that turned to mortification when he realized unlike last time, there was an larger audience.

Yuka was shielding her eyes with her mother's arm, who was staring at her son with a knowing smirk. Ms. Nakashima, by contrast, was surprised and turning back and forth to look at Satoshi and where her daughter had walked toward the front entrance. Yoshiki, having decided there was no point in sticking around anymore, had been getting up and froze mid-motion when it happened to stare. Feeling all eyes upon him, Satoshi stared at the ground to hide his red face.

"Heh." It was Yoshiki that broke the silence. "Good job, Satoshi!" He gave the brunette a congratulatory slap on the shoulder.

"Is it over?" Yuka risked looking up.

"Well, well..." Mrs. Mochida commented.

"Hmm..." After an apparent moment of thought, Ms. Nakashima left after her daughter without a word.

"See you around." Grinning, Yoshiki slapped Satoshi's shoulder again and started making his way back to the 2nd floor, leaving his embarrassed friend to the sharks.

"Satoshi, are you ready to go?" His mother asked, putting aside that spectacle for now.

"Huh?" Satoshi looked up. "Yeah..." He muttered and fell in behind his mother and Yuka as they headed out the hospital. The cold air outside did do some to relieve his embarrassment. Wonderingly, he rubbed the spot where she'd kissed him.

It had caught him off guard. The first time had been in the heat of the moment. The second? Satoshi wasn't sure. He hadn't thought her the outwardly affectionate kind. Though now that he thought about it, she had been pretty open with Shinohara...

_She's a hard girl to understand._ Satoshi sighed, but in admiration rather then frustration. She was hard to understand, but he cared about her, and after tonight he knew for sure the same was true in reverse.

As they headed for their car, Satoshi even found himself starting to smile. The thought that Naomi would be waiting to see him at school tomorrow made him more then willing to keep on going. And that led him to another realization: For the first time in a long time, he wasn't worried about her. There was no nagging doubt or uncertainty in it. They both what the problem was, and Naomi herself had said she knew the solution.

Him. Satoshi was how she could endure onwards. It's what they both wanted, and it was what she _needed_. And no matter what happened, Satoshi would be there.

XX A/N XX

February. Definitely fell off the wagon. Well, it isn't the only out of season fic I've ever seen posted. And the only thing worse then finishing late is not finishing at all. On another note, I just realized something- I got the ball rolling way late for a shipping fic. There's only three chapters left (in my head; number might increase if they come out too long on paper), and there's only so much fluff a person can fit into three chapters, especially when two of them are focused on something else entirely.

Note to self: When I write another Corpse Party story, get the ship sailing faster.


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